Dismantling the Institutional Review Board (IRB), that oversees all human subjects research, is bad. Really bad.
The entire HR department at the CDC is gone. Everyone at the IRB, which makes sure studies are conducted ethically and rigorously, and the ethics office, which oversee conflicts of interest for CDC leaders and advisory committee members, were also let go.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘Instability and confusion’ as CDC slashes 1,300 jobs before reinstating half
Trump administration says 700 notices were sent in error, while top CDC officer says ‘they didn’t think through what they were doing’
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Dismantling the Institutional Review Board (IRB), that oversees all human subjects research, is bad. Really bad.
Wild how the category of “women” must both be ruthlessly defended by the right but also stripped from all direct research, support, or institutional funding.
February 4, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Wild how the category of “women” must both be ruthlessly defended by the right but also stripped from all direct research, support, or institutional funding.
And here's the thing: institutional neutrality, even in its most robust version (Kalven/ Chicago) specifically calls for universities to speak out vociferously on *matters that directly impact their institutional mission*.
If research funding ain't it, then what is??
If research funding ain't it, then what is??
February 5, 2025 at 11:38 PM
And here's the thing: institutional neutrality, even in its most robust version (Kalven/ Chicago) specifically calls for universities to speak out vociferously on *matters that directly impact their institutional mission*.
If research funding ain't it, then what is??
If research funding ain't it, then what is??
HHS wants to relax regulations on human subject research (The Common Rule). For example, they want to redefine “undue influence” on vulnerable human research subjects (children, prisoners, disabled, culturally disadvantaged). 1/
September 17, 2026 at 2:28 PM
HHS wants to relax regulations on human subject research (The Common Rule). For example, they want to redefine “undue influence” on vulnerable human research subjects (children, prisoners, disabled, culturally disadvantaged). 1/
I’m not a Trekkie but I’ve done enough basic research into the Star Trek fandom to know women basically invented it, and are why the show even continued to exist. This kind of writing is part of institutional sexism that denies women’s accomplishments and role in history and it infuriates me
October 25, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I’m not a Trekkie but I’ve done enough basic research into the Star Trek fandom to know women basically invented it, and are why the show even continued to exist. This kind of writing is part of institutional sexism that denies women’s accomplishments and role in history and it infuriates me
Don makes an important point here about the dismantling of the administrative state. The institutional damage is to:
1.) destruction of *expertise,* honed by credentialing, research, experience, and *tenure* in job
1.) destruction of *expertise,* honed by credentialing, research, experience, and *tenure* in job
The idea that deep institutional damage can be easily rolled back seems like a very odd take for a conservative. The damage to the civil service system is huge, and legislation is needed to reassure future hires they won’t be fired on a whim.
also, describing a lack of legislative capacity as a point against authoritarian consolidation misses the point: the defining feature of Trump’s second term is consolidation of power in the *executive* - the lack of legislative authorization makes him more authoritarian, not less
August 9, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Don makes an important point here about the dismantling of the administrative state. The institutional damage is to:
1.) destruction of *expertise,* honed by credentialing, research, experience, and *tenure* in job
1.) destruction of *expertise,* honed by credentialing, research, experience, and *tenure* in job
Title text: "The research was overseen by the Institutional Review Board, which is what I named my surfboard."
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3255#Transcript
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3255#Transcript
June 8, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Title text: "The research was overseen by the Institutional Review Board, which is what I named my surfboard."
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3255#Transcript
Alt text: https://explainxkcd.com/3255#Transcript
“Supporters of the proposal said it would effectively create a state version of the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, two of the nation’s largest institutional funders of scientific and public health research.”
🧪 #giftarticle
🧪 #giftarticle
California’s $23 Billion Plan to Restore Federal Cuts to Scientific Research
www.nytimes.com
September 13, 2025 at 7:29 PM
“Supporters of the proposal said it would effectively create a state version of the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, two of the nation’s largest institutional funders of scientific and public health research.”
🧪 #giftarticle
🧪 #giftarticle
Do you know what makes for good undergrad research? SMALL CLASS SIZES WITH A LOW STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO AND AN INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE SUPPORTING AND REWARDING GOOD MENTORING OF UNDERGRADS.
September 17, 2026 at 3:57 AM
Do you know what makes for good undergrad research? SMALL CLASS SIZES WITH A LOW STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO AND AN INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE SUPPORTING AND REWARDING GOOD MENTORING OF UNDERGRADS.
The argument that enrollment growth will save tenure-line employment humanities fails because it ignores the institutional bias against humanities research - research is the justification for tenure.
September 27, 2026 at 3:33 PM
The argument that enrollment growth will save tenure-line employment humanities fails because it ignores the institutional bias against humanities research - research is the justification for tenure.
Just announced: University of Michigan Faculty Senate resoundingly votes to support Big Ten academic mutual defense compact. 92.8% of over 3,000 votes.
April 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Just announced: University of Michigan Faculty Senate resoundingly votes to support Big Ten academic mutual defense compact. 92.8% of over 3,000 votes.
I’m not doing active research on these conversations. But one of the themes I’ve noticed is a general sense of institutional betrayal. And a profound sense of isolation and distrust in its wake.
July 29, 2026 at 6:58 PM
I’m not doing active research on these conversations. But one of the themes I’ve noticed is a general sense of institutional betrayal. And a profound sense of isolation and distrust in its wake.
Do people realize that this is also happening with case law?
Like Do You Understand What That Fucking Means???
Like Do You Understand What That Fucking Means???
December 20, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Do people realize that this is also happening with case law?
Like Do You Understand What That Fucking Means???
Like Do You Understand What That Fucking Means???
For the uninitiated I should mention the IRB is an institutional body, all human research-conducting entities have to have one. This would affect CDC studies, but not, say, studies they fund at a University. NIH would likewise have one or more for their intramural research programs.
October 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM
For the uninitiated I should mention the IRB is an institutional body, all human research-conducting entities have to have one. This would affect CDC studies, but not, say, studies they fund at a University. NIH would likewise have one or more for their intramural research programs.
I left academia but kept doing research informed by my anthropology PhD. Every year, it got harder due to expensive paywalls, deleted digital archives, and a broad climate of fear. I didn't have institutional backing so I didn't fear institutional wrath. But attacks on scholarship hurt everyone.
May 27, 2025 at 7:20 PM
I left academia but kept doing research informed by my anthropology PhD. Every year, it got harder due to expensive paywalls, deleted digital archives, and a broad climate of fear. I didn't have institutional backing so I didn't fear institutional wrath. But attacks on scholarship hurt everyone.
Most people outside of academia don't know how fragile research ecosystems of talent, infrastructure, and momentum really are. Once the funding, people, and institutional memory are gone, it’s incredibly hard to rebuild.
October 3, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Most people outside of academia don't know how fragile research ecosystems of talent, infrastructure, and momentum really are. Once the funding, people, and institutional memory are gone, it’s incredibly hard to rebuild.
Trump's America.
Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and training opportunities that the USA is losing
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and training opportunities that the USA is losing
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Insiders warn how dismantling federal agencies could put science at risk
From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Trump's America.
Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and training opportunities that the USA is losing
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and training opportunities that the USA is losing
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
“Genuine intellectual diversity requires time for reflection, institutional independence, historical depth, ethical questioning, & the freedom to pursue research unconstrained by immediate market demands. These conditions cannot flourish where knowledge itself has become increasingly commodified.”
Higher Ed Can’t Be Neutral in an Age of Brutality. It Must Choose Democracy.
Contemporary proponents of “institutional neutrality” fail to grasp that universities have never been outside politics.
truthout.org
July 29, 2026 at 10:57 PM
“Genuine intellectual diversity requires time for reflection, institutional independence, historical depth, ethical questioning, & the freedom to pursue research unconstrained by immediate market demands. These conditions cannot flourish where knowledge itself has become increasingly commodified.”
A good way to think about institutional research culture!
September 1, 2025 at 7:57 AM
A good way to think about institutional research culture!
Somebody needs to channel Audre Lorde and explain to the institutional leaders of higher education that their silence will not protect us. We need to be 10 toes down and LOUD about celebrating and explaining the value of education, the importance of free inquiry, the life saving impact of research..
February 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Somebody needs to channel Audre Lorde and explain to the institutional leaders of higher education that their silence will not protect us. We need to be 10 toes down and LOUD about celebrating and explaining the value of education, the importance of free inquiry, the life saving impact of research..
More than any higher ed development in recent memory, institutional subsidies for AI at R1 universities prove that austerity is a choice. It is not “too expensive” to invest in a humanities research infrastructure; rather, it is a choice that R1 universities make not to & subsidize AI instead.
The amount of money I saw one department paying for several AI services in a school year could cover the University’s pay one price textbook costs for nearly their entire enrolled student body in said department
Colleges could subsidize books for students rather than paying for premium versions of ChatGPT
September 16, 2026 at 9:54 PM
More than any higher ed development in recent memory, institutional subsidies for AI at R1 universities prove that austerity is a choice. It is not “too expensive” to invest in a humanities research infrastructure; rather, it is a choice that R1 universities make not to & subsidize AI instead.
In this 9-minute presentation I touch on betrayal trauma, betrayal blindness, institutional betrayal, DARVO, institutional courage, and what the theories and research findings suggests for responding to our current situation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFTb...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFTb...
Jennifer Freyd 2025 - Institutional Betrayal and the Path to Courage
YouTube video by jjfreyd
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:56 PM
In this 9-minute presentation I touch on betrayal trauma, betrayal blindness, institutional betrayal, DARVO, institutional courage, and what the theories and research findings suggests for responding to our current situation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFTb...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFTb...
