Harvard University Police Department Officer George Pierce accused Harvard of discrimination in a federal complaint against the university, The Harvard Crimson reported. In the complaint filed last month, Pierce accused HUPD of acting "with evil motive and with reckless indifference to Pierce's rights," according to The Crimson. Nine Caucasian applicants have been promoted to the position of sergeant since 2002, while Pierce the only officer of color to apply during this period was not. In his complaint, Pierce alleged that the police department is run in a "racially-based" manner and that his supervisors openly made statements like, "I hate blacks," Inside Higher Ed reported.
Approximately 12,000 students and faculty members from California's 23 state university campuses protested state budget cuts to education this past Wednesday, The Boston Globe reported. Students peacefully protested in the administration buildings of at least six campuses, Brian Ferguson, spokesman for the California Faculty Association, said in an interview with The Globe. As Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., seeks to close the state's $26.6 billion budget deficit, the University of California and California State University systems may lose $500 million. Such a reduction in funding could lead to larger class sizes, higher tuition and lower enrollment, and would most drastically impact low-income students and first-generation students. Similar protests occurred in Massachusetts and New Jersey due to cuts in education funding, The Globe reported.
Levels of "burnout" among academics in educational institutions have become as high as in other service professions, according to a study, "Burnout in university teaching staff: a systematic literature review," in Educational Research. The study defined symptoms of academic burnout as increasing work-related dissatisfaction, exhaustion and de-personalization, or increased cynicism and negativity toward others. The research project led by University of Leicester psychology professor Noelle Robertson and graduate student Jenny Watts also determined that male lecturers are more likely to experience de-personalization, while females more frequently experience emotional exhaustion. Younger staff members are more vulnerable to burnout, which could be a result of their interaction with a greater number of students, the study found. Recognizing that stress is a legitimate problem that university staff members face and providing counseling services, peer support and mentoring programs will help address the problem, Robertson said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed.
