Nate Johnson
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Nate Johnson
@natejohnson.bsky.social
210 followers 730 following 98 posts
25 years in Florida higher education policy. 3 months in vegetable gardening. Let’s talk about collard greens ….
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I’m a supporter of @thefireorg.bsky.social but their college rankings are aging poorly. From the fine print…
September 26, 2025 at 12:47 AM
No more Shakespeare comedies at Texas A&M…
adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · Feb 28
Texas A&M University System bans student drag shows because they might offend someone. Utter disregard for basic First Amendment rights.
[...] WHEREAS, the Board recognizes and supports the efforts of the Universities’ student, staff and faculty organizations, to foster a sense of community and belonging for the many students, staff and faculty of the Universities from varied backgrounds; and WHEREAS, the Board is aware that each of the Universities operate and maintain meeting rooms, theaters, auditoriums, and other venues available to student, staff and faculty organizations in which the organizations periodically host events that are open to members of the public (Special Event Venues); and WHEREAS, the Board recognizes a special interest in maintaining the Universities’ Special Event Venues as limited forums for the purpose of promoting the mission of the System to provide education, conduct research, commercialize technology, offer training and deliver services for the people of Texas and beyond; and WHEREAS, the Board finds that it is inconsistent with the System’s mission and core values of its Universities, including the value of respect for others, to allow Special Event Venues of the Universities to be used for drag shows that involve biological males dressing in women’s clothing, wearing exaggerated female make up and/or exaggerated prosthetics meant to parody the female body type, and that are: open to the public; involve sexualized, vulgar or lewd conduct; and involve conduct that demeans women (Drag Show Events); and WHEREAS, the Board finds that Drag Show Events are likely to create or contribute to a hostile environment for women contrary to System anti-discrimination policy and Title IX . . ., as these events often involve unwelcome and objectively offensive conduct based on sex for many members of the respective communities of the Universities, particularly when they involve the mockery or objectification of women; and WHEREAS, the Board is advised that there are alternative locations for such events at off-campus venues and private facilities near the Universities; and WHEREAS, the Board acknowledges Trump’s Executive Order issued Jan. 20, 2025, entitled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. The Board further acknowledges that the Order recognizes two sexes, male and female, and specifies that the federal government shall not promote gender ideology; and WHEREAS, the Order further provides that federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology; and WHEREAS, the Board acknowledges Gov. Abbott’s letter dated January 30, 2025, expressing support for the Order and directing state agencies to “comply with the law and the biological reality that there are only two sexes – male and female”; and WHEREAS, given that both the System and the Universities receive significant federal funding, the use of facilities at the Universities for Drag Show Events may be considered promotion of gender ideology in violation of the Order and the Governor’s directive; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that it is the policy of the Board of Regents that Drag Show Events shall not be held at Special Event Venues on any of the campuses of the Universities, from and after the date of this resolution; and, be it, further RESOLVED, that the Board of Regents directs the Chancellor and the President of each of the Universities to take the actions necessary to implement the policy set forth above, including action to cancel any upcoming Drag Show Events and to review and, as needed, to revise the university’s procedures for the use of its Special Event Venues to ensure compliance with (a) the policy expressed in this resolution, (b) the above-referenced Executive Order from President Trump and directive from Gov. Abbott , and (c) other state and federal law, including Title IX and its promise of a discrimination-free educational environment.
February 28, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Is the NIH memo on indirect costs truly self-implementing or are there additional legal, administrative, political hurdles? Either way, I would read it like the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as an opening threat to extract real or staged concessions from states and private universities.
February 8, 2025 at 5:33 PM
www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...
Bill granting mining rights to universities splits opinion
A bill on mineral and coal mining that would controversially grant mining concessions to Indonesian universities is currently the subject of heated de...
www.universityworldnews.com
February 7, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
alexusherhesa.bsky.social
The Fifteen is out. Bored with all the gory details of HE imploding in the United States? Come, see what's going on for the last two weeks in North Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Argentina.
higheredstrategy.com/the-fifteen-...
The Fifteen: February 7, 2025 | HESA
Today is the tenth edition of The Fifteen. Higher Education is in flux around the world, and we are taking … Continued
higheredstrategy.com
February 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This is a great series so far. Many elements parallel the development of idiosyncratic U.S. state higher ed systems over the same time frame, while others are unique to Canada or Québec.
January 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Interesting piece by Marybeth Gasman. Can’t find her on here… www.forbes.com/sites/marybe...
A History Of “Segregation Scholarships” And The Impact On HBCUs
A Forgotten Migration explores the history of “segregation scholarships,” a practice used by Southern states in the U.S. to fund Black students’ graduate education.
www.forbes.com
December 9, 2024 at 5:54 PM
Wouldn’t this make most Shakespearean comedies off limits?
December 6, 2024 at 5:12 PM
A friend gave me a bunch of what she said were habaneros but they are not hot. Tasty but mild. Is that a thing?
December 4, 2024 at 1:50 AM
I mean people who think specialized jargon and overstretched theories are the special domain of humanities departments haven’t been to enough TQM seminars led by a six sigma black belt.
December 3, 2024 at 11:12 PM
So much freedom!
www.tallahassee.com/story/opinio...
www.tallahassee.com
November 24, 2024 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
opencampus.org
Our California reporter, Adam Echelman with @calmatters.org, identified at least 7 cases filed since 2020 in which professors or students have sued their community college districts for issues related to free speech. Most of the cases are still ongoing and are located in California’s Central Valley.
calmatters.org CalMatters @calmatters.org · Nov 22
At California’s community colleges, conservative professors and students are making their voices heard — not just in the classroom but in court. Their lawsuits have already led community colleges to pay millions in settlements and legal fees. calmatters.org/education/20...

📝 Adam Echelman
Conservative professors and students are suing California's community colleges, and winning
As the state’s community colleges adopt diversity, equity and inclusion policies, conservatives sue, claiming they have gone too far.
calmatters.org
November 22, 2024 at 12:53 AM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
tomh4.bsky.social
UF prez Ben Sasse hired his cronies to do nothing at extravagant salaries, paid 38k for sushi, bullied staff to genuflect for right-wing institute, but what brought him down? He recognized that USN&WR college rankings are worthless and refused to pretend otherwise. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/u...
Why Did Ben Sasse Resign as President of the University of Florida?
Florida’s star president, Ben Sasse, was among the best paid university presidents ever. He promised a conservative overhaul, but then he resigned, leaving controversy and an embarrassing drop in the ...
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2024 at 12:57 AM
Just getting started in N. Florida vegetable gardening. Radishes and lettuce so far so good. What should I be doing in November?
November 18, 2024 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
infowetrust.com
THE SIMPSONS PARADOX
October 30, 2024 at 4:15 PM
Getting ready for Helene in Tallahassee. For regular updates as long as communications last I recommend Weather Tiger’s brand of literate meteorology… weathertiger.substack.com/p/4f1891f3-f...
WeatherTiger's Hurricane Watch
Expert analysis of Florida hurricane threats, with a twist of dad humor. Click to read WeatherTiger's Hurricane Watch, by Dr. Ryan Truchelut, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
weathertiger.substack.com
September 26, 2024 at 5:46 PM
(Claude et al., 2031)
dynarski.bsky.social Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · Sep 3
To be clear, I am NOT writing this book.

Someone please take it on!
dynarski.bsky.social Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · Sep 3
Book proposal

"The Great Flex: How US Working People Demanded Higher Wages and Lower Prices in the 2020s"

-Recent increases in wages and in unionization have been remarkable

-So too has been the consumer pushback on price hikes

Everything isn't perfect. But this has been a BIG shift.
September 3, 2024 at 3:24 PM
Helpful grounding piece Robert!
robertkelchen.com Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · Sep 3
There is a lot of breathless media coverage of reported college closure numbers that are much higher than reality. In this blog post, I give some tips for going through the two main federal data sources to figure out how many colleges are really closing.
How Many Colleges Really Close Each Year?
College closures are getting quite a bit of attention right now—and for good reason. When a college closes suddenly, students are much less likely to complete their studies and employees have a diffic...
robertkelchen.com
September 3, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Cool way to organize a road trip, reading list, or both. lithub.com/a-literary-r...
A Literary Road Trip Across America
Literary Hub and Wildsam present: a literary road trip across America. Happy travels! Illustrations by Mike McKeogh Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Del…
lithub.com
August 16, 2024 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
shannonmattern.bsky.social
1777 catalog for the William Prince Nursery in Flushing, Queens archive.org/details/CAT3...

The Princes were apparently part of the rootstock of American commercial horticulture!: arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/the-...
A long list of fruit trees
July 17, 2024 at 12:26 AM
I was at this performance and it was quite shocking. Glad to know he is recovering. Our seats were not near the stage and since it took place right when Falstaff plays dead, it seemed at first like it might have been part of the performance. www.theguardian.com/culture/arti...
Ian McKellen expected to make ‘speedy recovery’ after falling off stage
Actor ‘in good spirits’ after falling off front of stage during battle scene, Noël Coward theatre spokesperson said
www.theguardian.com
June 18, 2024 at 11:44 AM
“Once again, the state of Florida has a First Amendment problem. Of late, it has happened so frequently, some might say you can set your clock by it,” Walker’s 60-page ruling began.

Federal judge blocks teacher pronoun restriction in Florida
www.tallahassee.com/story/news/p...
April 11, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
robertkelchen.com
A new NBER working paper finds large economic returns to students who were just barely accepted to Texas public universities based on hitting test score cutoffs.

www.nber.org/papers/w3229...
Marginal Returns to Public Universities
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
April 8, 2024 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Nate Johnson
dynarski.bsky.social

Important work

Randomized trial, in partnership with one of the largest coordinators of medical debt relief

Null effects on financial outcomes is in contrast to positive effects of debt relief found in other contexts (student loans, mortgages)
📈📉

https://tinyurl.com/27txwsc9
April 8, 2024 at 6:56 AM
This is a new one (to me at least)...
March 25, 2024 at 3:15 PM