As a recently retired academic with teaching and administrative experiencde, here are a couple of observations about this concepts:
1. Agree with Blittman, "Alt-anything" as a name cause more problems than it solves;
2. As the Austin University gambit illustrates, such endeavors need to be very careful about roll-out; too-grandiose a vision; too cynical and homogeneous a representation of all academia; careful planning about how to deal with the accreditation monopoly;
3. Another set of stakeholders is non-traditional (i.e. older or in-service) students. This is a large market and full of people with real world experience as well as less patience for new leftish, social justice warrior games;
4. I very much agree with the idea of building out from an established and accredited university v. starting something de novo. While Chicago is an intriguing option given its history, perhaps a public university outside of the coastal enclaves and with real incentives to fill a new market niche would be appropriate. I''d also think about a place with a strong and decisive leader...e.g. Mitch Daniels at Purdue.
5. I would definitely be up for teaching and participating in a well-conceived effort along these lines.
As a recently retired academic with teaching and administrative experiencde, here are a couple of observations about this concepts:
1. Agree with Blittman, "Alt-anything" as a name cause more problems than it solves;
2. As the Austin University gambit illustrates, such endeavors need to be very careful about roll-out; too-grandiose a vision; too cynical and homogeneous a representation of all academia; careful planning about how to deal with the accreditation monopoly;
3. Another set of stakeholders is non-traditional (i.e. older or in-service) students. This is a large market and full of people with real world experience as well as less patience for new leftish, social justice warrior games;
4. I very much agree with the idea of building out from an established and accredited university v. starting something de novo. While Chicago is an intriguing option given its history, perhaps a public university outside of the coastal enclaves and with real incentives to fill a new market niche would be appropriate. I''d also think about a place with a strong and decisive leader...e.g. Mitch Daniels at Purdue.
5. I would definitely be up for teaching and participating in a well-conceived effort along these lines.
Richard Harris
Professor Emeritus
Rutgers University-Camden Campus