Rob Taber

@robtaber

Historian of Haiti 🇭🇹 and democracy in the Americas at Fayetteville State. Working for a welcoming + transformative UNC System & NC. Views my own. Formerly US ED Partnerships. Occasional live-poster of obscure panels and events.

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Rob Taber@robtaber· 9h

I am pro "AI literacy," partly because I'm SO skeptical of LLMs usefulness in much of the writing process. But I think universities need to be cautious about fixating on students learning particular tools or platforms rather than general principles for exactly the reason Leiden gives here. (1/2)

Screenshot of Bloomberg piece linked in the next post, reads as follows: Hopes of an employment boon may be premature. Recent data shows a slowdown in hiring has driven rising unemployment among 18- to 24-year-olds more than a shortage of AI training. Erik Leiden, managing director of workforce strategy at Burning Glass, says many of the AI boot camps cropping up don’t necessarily match jobs that exist yet. Some programs are built around the products of major AI labs, primarily at Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, and may prove less relevant to jobs that use different platforms. “Everyone is telling schools, you need to get in on AI, it’s urgent, it’s the future, it’s here,” he says. “But it’s tough for colleges to know what students are going to need in the workforce, because it’s such an open question right now.”

Rob Taber@robtaber· 1d

It was wonderful to be part of Fayetteville State University's welcome festivities today! As I shared in my remarks, the University of North Carolina System Faculty Assembly's work on academic freedom has laid an important foundation in how we're approaching: (1/3)

Photo of Rob Taber, in a suit, at a podium on a stage, with a slide in the background that says "Academic Freedom and the Road Ahead"

Rob Taber@robtaber· 8d

Also note:

Screenshot of piece linked above, which reads as follows: "There is no plan to directly penalize colleges that refuse to comply, said Pidluzny. A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said institutions that do announce reforms could be more likely to be involved in discussions around reshaping the roughly $200 billion federal research funding apparatus that is vital to higher education. Last year the administration froze billions of dollars of that funding to elite schools, pressuring some to pay fines and agree to broad policy changes. Some schools, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have reported significant drops in research funding this year."

Rob Taber@robtaber· 10d

Harris Teeter and Organic Valley, taking advantage of how no one understands imperial units anymore.

Picture of a pint of Organic Valley Grassmilk half & half being sold for $5.49, while a 16 ounce container is being sold for $4.19

Rob Taber@robtaber· 18d

I'm impressed they managed to say this with a straight face.

Screenshot from Brookings piece on AI in education research, reads as follows: "Conversations about AI in education often start with the right question: Is there evidence of the effects of this technology? Of course, we want to know the likely effects of an intervention before it hits the classroom. Too often, though, the next question gets very narrow: What have we learned about the technology from randomized controlled trials (RCTs)? RCTs are hard to come by, so the conversation (and the pursuit of evidence) tends to stop there. Perhaps this helps explain why only 1 in 5 edtech products in classrooms have any evidence that they can improve teaching and learning outcomes." The last sentence is highlighted.

Rob Taber@robtaber· 27d

Spending my afternoon at a Fayetteville Newsmakers event organized by @theassemblync.bsky.social and hosted by Fayetteville State. Notable moment: a member of the audience spoke up to denounce the Iran War for its human and economic cost. That does NOT happen here, especially at events like this.

Snapshot of panel on stage, including Paul Woolverton, senior reporter at CityView and moderator; Mayor Mitch Colvin of Fayetteville; Kirk deViere, chairman of the Cumberland County Commission; John Hardin, Executive Director for the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Rob Taber@robtaber· 27d

I see both Norton and ProQuest have rolled out AI tools that pop up when students use their books. Meanwhile, Macmillan seems incapable of adding an index to their e-textbook. 🙄

Screenshot from Proquest FAQ on AI assistant, reads as follows:

We highly recommend keeping the Research Assistant enabled. Here are a few things to consider

Students are already using AI tools – The Ebook Central Research Assistant provides a trusted, responsible alternative within a secure academic environment.
It supports research, not shortcuts – Designed to guide, not do the work, it helps students navigate chapters and build their own understanding.
Boosts engagement and usage – Encourages deeper reading, better evaluation, and exploration of additional titles.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Jul 9

It might! And that's one reason I'm glad CPHE has been engaging with faculty experts and leaders for more than a year on what an intellectual diversity standard and accompanying guidance could look like, including these footnotes. 7/7

Screenshot from the Commission for Public Higher Education's evidentiary guidance, dated May 11, 2026, footnote 9, reads as follows:

“Reasonable ideas” should be defined by faculty within the discipline in question. Every idea is not reasonable, sound, or relevant for discussion in a college or university classroom. For example, pursuit of
intellectual diversity does not require faculty in the geological sciences to give audience to the assertion that the Earth is flat.

Screenshot of Commission for Public Higher Education's evidentiary guidance, dated May 11, 2026, footnote 10, which reads as follows:

At issue are not the personal politics, affiliations, or ideologies of individual faculty, other teaching staff, or those who coordinate co-curricular matters. Nor should this standard be interpreted to encourage ideological balancing or quotas or political litmus tests.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Jul 6

Second, the UNC System is putting money into civil discourse from the bottom-up, with course development and redesign grants. Faculty at 16 out of 17 UNC institutions are recipients. (Full disclosure: I am one of these faculty.)

Screenshot from link in first post, reads as follows:

"But the UNC System is up for the challenge. This summer, scores of faculty members from across the state gathered for the Common Ground Collaborative, a new effort to promote civic discourse and constructive dialogue at North Carolina’s public universities. There is already excellent work happening across the state, with BridgeUSA chapters growing on many campuses and faculty members working with the Civic Discourse and Debate Alliance at nearly all public universities.

The UNC System Office is investing real money to broaden the effort, thus far awarding more than $500,000 in grants that will allow dozens of faculty across 16 UNC campuses to build or redesign courses to emphasize open debate and civil dialogue. We’re restarting the highly-regarded 2022 survey on Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue, which offered a detailed look at student attitudes about free speech and political engagement. And we’re partnering with the Constructive Dialogue Institute to deliver training to hundreds of students this fall in how to listen and work through disagreement.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Jul 6

As Eric points out, this is an argument that UNC System President Peter Hans has been making since at least February, when the UNC Board of Governors unanimously ratified a more detailed definition of academic freedom. (Which can be seen here, 601 A. and B.: www.northcarolina.edu/apps/policy/...)

Screenshot of article linked in first post, reads as follows:

“If we want our universities to survive as freethinking, truth-seeking institutions, we need to toughen up our commitment to free inquiry and civic discourse,” UNC System President Peter Hans said earlier this spring, announcing the new civic initiatives alongside a stronger definition of academic freedom. “It took many years of disruption and distraction to reach the challenging state we’re in now, and it will take many years of patient recommitment to sustain the culture of inquiry and truth-seeking we need.”

Rob Taber@robtaber· Jul 6

First is the way Eric argues that civil discourse / civic education at the university level REQUIRES robust protection of academic freedom.

Screenshot of article linked in previous post, reads as follows:

“Trust has to be intentionally built,” explained Jake Fay, who leads education efforts for the Constructive Dialogue Institute. “You have to design your classroom for it.”

And universities have to design their policies for it. That’s why the UNC System has some of the strongest free speech and academic freedom protections in the nation, including a provision that explicitly protects the teaching of controversial ideas. If we want our students to be ready for the rough-and-tumble of American public life, we need classrooms where students and professors alike are comfortable tackling tough issues.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Jul 1

It's real! MUCH appreciation to all of the task force members, the participants in the University of North Carolina System's Common Ground Collaborative, and EVERYONE who has shared thoughts, insights, and recommended readings over the last several months. 🧵

Cover page of "Civil Discourse and the University of North Carolina: Strong Civility, Culture of Collaborative Problem-Solving, and Inherent Dignity." Prepared by the UNC System Faculty Taskforce on Civil Discourse, June 2026

Rob Taber@robtaber· Jun 25

Next (re)reading obtained, courtesy of the Fayetteville State interlibrary loan team.

Cover of Lara Hope Schwartz's Try to Love the Questions and the title page of David Geggus's Slavery, War, and Revoluton

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 30

...but were there other entrants?

Picture of a banner in French declaring the Charles de Gaulle airport the best airport in Europe for the fifth year in a row

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 26

For sure. That's a whole lot of upfront capital. But building (out) more of our universities makes lots of sense. Fayetteville State has a very effective "free summer school" program to speed time to degree that we've had to use private $$ for. Public money for that > axing gen eds.

Screenshot of New York Times article on Rahm Emanuel's proposed higher education reforms, with the highlight "would reward universities that provide a clear path to earn a four-year degree in three years."

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 26

Si vous savez, vous savez

View from the back porch of the French National Archives in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, including an artificial pond and a building with wooden lattice work in front.

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 22

School rankings are deeply problematic (what gets measured? how is it weighted?). That said, it's striking that @ncssm-durham.bsky.social isn't just the #1 public high school in the country, it's only behind Hotchkiss and Philips Exeter in the overall rankings.

Screenshot of Niche dot com rankings, showing Philips Exeter as the number two private school in the country, followed by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics as the top public school in the country.

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 14

Honored to help kickoff the UNC System's Common Ground Collaborative at UNC Charlotte, sharing thoughts from the UNC Faculty Task Force's work on civil discourse: -Civil discourse work is to foster a culture of deliberative problem-solving. (1/3)

Photo of Rob Taber standing behind a UNC Charlotte podium.

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 7

We've got the cheery "scheduled maintenance." Yes, if by scheduled, one means "30 minutes ago when the breach occurred."

Screenshot of Canvas error message with robots fixing a rocket ship and the words "Canvas is currently undergoing schedule maintenance - check back soon."

Rob Taber@robtaber· May 5

There is just so much (wrong) happening here.

Screenshot of linked pdf, reads as follows: "Slavery Uprising in Santo Domingo: Between 1791 and 1804, a slave revolt in Haiti resulted in a race war, cruelty, and bloodshed. Over 100,000 whites and 60,000 blacks
were killed. The violence caused American statesmen to realize that an imprudent or rash approach to resolving slavery could result in a similar race war and bloodshed in America."

Rob Taber@robtaber· Apr 28

Honestly, lecture prep is one of my favorite things about being a professor. Seen here: a Costa Rican memorial to Central America's defeat of William Walker, depicted running away from the battle.

Statute of six figures. Five represent different Central American nations: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They are brandishing weapons and charging the sixth figure—William Walker, a US filibuster, who repeatedly tried to take over parts of Central America to re-establish slavery.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Apr 21

There's something truly wild about the higher ed literature from the post-9/11 but pre-Facebook era. It's both deeply familiar and so utterly different.

Title page for Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility

Rob Taber@robtaber· Apr 20

There are lots of radical ideas in the 151 pages of regulations the Department of Education is proposing. This one involves a fundamental misunderstanding or misrepresentation of how academic life works. 🧵 (1/7)

Screenshot of article linked in quoted post, with this sentence highlighted: "The proposals also would prohibit professionals in the field and even representatives of accredited programs from setting policy and standards for the accreditor.

The rest of the screenshot reads as follows:

Having to rent separate office space could increase costs, programmatic accreditors argue, and not being able to tap the expertise of professionals in the field could lower the rigor of the accrediting process and contribute to lower-quality programs.

Another proposal would create a sort of “chicken and egg” problem, the anonymous programmatic accreditation leader said. Accreditors would have to more clearly demonstrate a “federal link” — in other words, evidence that they have a tie to federal money — to receive Education Department recognition.

The problem, the source said, is that the federal money in question may be going to students or an institution through a grant program that requires accreditation from a federally recognized accreditor. But if the student or institution doesn’t get the grant, then the accreditor could lose recognition.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Mar 17

"Woke," with its current construction and similar connotation, goes back at least 100 years. The Houston Informer, 24 May 1924:

Screenshot of the column The Mirror by C. F. Richardson, titled "Stay Woke." Screenshot reads as follows: Have you heard the latest street slang, "Stay Woke?" While some of the slang expressions do not have much meaning or significance, this recent one does. It means that one should ever be on the job; should be on the alert and not rat or sleep at the post of duty.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Mar 17

Though, as always:

Screenshot from UNC Chapel Hill's Office of Scholarships and Student Aid showing the estimated total cost of attendance to be $28,742 per year.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Mar 17

A good case study in "sticker price ≠ cost of attendance for a majority of undergrads"

Screenshot, reads as follows: The majority of Duke students don’t pay the full cost of attendance, however, thanks to the financial aid office. The school says it meets 100% of demonstrated need, and distributed $171 million in need-based grants and scholarships last year.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Mar 12

Who could have predicted this?* *Everyone, that's who.

Screenshot that reads as follows: AI companies are hooking users with low prices that won't last — straight out of the Amazon and Uber playbook, Axios AI+ co-author Madison Mills writes.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Feb 26

And this is where good-faith engagement by elected faculty representatives and leaders really did make a difference across the past month. I'm glad we can use a fuller range of examples in class and that the prohibition on "ideological advocacy" (a term undefined in UNC code or NC law) was dropped.

Screenshot, including strike throughs of text.

The phrase "The Parameters of Academic Freedom Do Not Include" has been modified to be all lower case instead of title case.

The sentence "Teaching content clearly unrelated to the course description or unrelated to the discipline or subject matter" has been replaced with "Teaching content that lacks pedagogical connection to the course, discipline, or subject matter."

The sentence "Using university resources for political or ideological advocacy in violation of university policy" is now "Using university resources for political activity in violation of university policy."

The sentence "Refusing to comply with institutional policies or accreditation standards to which the university is subject" has been modified to remove "accreditation standards."

Rob Taber@robtaber· Feb 26

As Ryan notes in his article, UNC's definition includes many of the same protections found in other descriptions of academic freedom, along with some parameters. NB: other definitions, including the AAUP's 1940 statement, also include parameters. The question then becomes where to draw the line.

Screenshot of the AAUP's 1940 statement on academic freedom that reads as follows: "Academic Freedom
1. Teachers are entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.

2. Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject. Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.

3. College and university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officers of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution."

The phrase "but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject" is highlighted in the screenshot.

Rob Taber@robtaber· Feb 26

It's also worth taking a look at what was actually passed by the Board of Governors today. (It's too wordy for alt text on Bluesky, but it's pages 18 through 21 on the pdf here: www.northcarolina.edu/apps/bog/doc... ) (4/8)