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From the issue dated April 8, 2005 |
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Short SubjectsSENSE AND CENSORSHIPDebates at the University of Georgia over a racial epithet in a civil-rights exhibit, in Arizona about purportedly salacious content in state-financed student publications, and at Wright State University about nudity in a student play HEAVY METAL: An undergraduate's curiosity about her tattoo led to surprising information about the ingredients in the ink. NOISY EXISTENTIALISTS: Neighbors of La Chateau, a large student co-op in Berkeley, filed a nuisance lawsuit against the co-op association, citing rats, drums, and headless chickens on the property. THE JOKE'S ON US: Yale students who tricked Harvard football fans submitted a doctored photograph of the prank to "The Chronicle." The FacultyMORE THAN WORDSA North Dakota legislator sought to punish state universities whose foreign-born instructors' accents are difficult to understand. But research shows that the problem may lie with the listeners. 2 PAGES A DAYTeaching and writing aren't mutually exclusive. The secret is to make use of little pockets of time, writes Jay Parini, a poet, a novelist, and a professor of English at Middlebury College. GUIDING PRINCIPLESIn these politically charged times, we must reaffirm the value of academic freedom and the responsibilities that come with it, writes Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University. DIARY OF A JOINT SEARCH, PART 3How does a program maneuver to gain the upper hand in a dual hire with a more powerful department? POLITICALLY DISADVANTAGED: Scholars who identify themselves as Republican or conservative are less likely to work at higher-ranked institutions, a study finds. FLUSH WITH FREEDOM: The Ford Foundation is launching a new grant program for institutions interested in "fostering a free and open campus community." ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT: A committee invesitigating harassment complaints by Jewish students at Columbia University found no anti-Semitism but "an acute erosion of trust between faculty and students." PEER REVIEW: Anne D. Yoder has been hired away from Yale University to head Duke University's Primate Center. ... Marc Bousquet, whose writings on academic labor include the book The Waste Product of Graduate Education, is moving from the University of Louisville to Santa Clara University. Research & BooksTHE EROTICISM OF PRINTINGRichard-Gabriel Rummonds once made exquisite books by hand. Now he writes about the centuries-old art for a small but loyal readership. SAVE THE WOMBATSBerlin's great Museum für Naturkunde, which houses 25 million specimens but still bears bomb damage from World War II, recently faced extinction. 2 PAGES A DAYTeaching and writing aren't mutually exclusive. The secret is to make use of little pockets of time, writes Jay Parini, a poet, a novelist, and a professor of English at Middlebury College. DARTMOUTH DAZEIn the 1970s one of the first women at the previously all-male college coped by being a tough cookie, a wiseguy, and a feminist. It was worth it, writes Gina Barreca, a professor of English literature and feminist theory at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. EMBRYONIC MORALITYWhen neuroethicists consider at what point an embryo becomes a human, moral arguments get mixed in with biology. The result can be a stew of passions, beliefs, and stubborn, illogical opinion, writes Michael S. Gazzaniga, a professor of cognitive neuroscience and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College. WORDS WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN CASHThe narrative section can make or break a grant proposal, so give it the attention it deserves. VERBATIM: A leading bioethicist answers questions about the Terri Schiavo case. HOT TYPE: Princeton University Press celebrates its 100th anniversary with a new director. NOTA BENE: In a new book about venereal disease and the Lewis and Clark expedition, Thomas P. Lowry, formerly of the University of California at San Francisco, examines signs of syphillis and gonorrhea among the explorers through journals and physical evidence. Government & Politics'WE'LL FIGHT LIKE CRAZY'Advocates for LEAP, a federal program that matches state support for need-based student aid, have vowed to keep it going even though the Bush administration wants to eliminate it. MORE THAN WORDSA North Dakota legislator sought to punish state universities whose foreign-born instructors' accents are difficult to understand. But research shows that the problem may lie with the listeners. A WIN FOR WHISTLE-BLOWERSThe U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Title IX protects people who act as advocates for victims of sex discrimination. GUIDING PRINCIPLESIn these politically charged times, we must reaffirm the value of academic freedom and the responsibilities that come with it, writes Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University. PRIVACY OPINION: The U.S. Department of Education has ruled that a federal privacy law does not bar California's university systems from sharing student records with a state agency. WORLD DOMINATION: In order to achieve global distinction, the University of Minnesota will close two colleges and open a new Honors College on its main campus. NEED TO KNOW: The federal government is weighing changes in laws on student privacy, an Education Department official says. LESS BURDENSOME? Education Department officials argue that the proposed "unit record" system for tracking students will be easier for colleges, but some critics claim it will increase the workload for administrators. VOTED DOWN: The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education rejected the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth's plan to buy the Southern New England School of Law and establish the state's first public law school. SALARY REVIEW: New statistics from the Census Bureau show that Asian-American and African-American women with undergraduate degrees make more money than white women with the same degrees. SHIFT IN SUPPORT: Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to allow a vote on liberalization of the current policy on stem-cell research. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has asked for review of proposed criteria on treatment of human research subjects in foreign countries. PERSONAL BUSINESS: The University of California system has been ordered to pay $2.1-million to an employee of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who says she was fired because she testified in a co-worker's sexual-harassment case. STATEHOUSE DIGEST: News from the state capitals Money & ManagementCHANGE AGENTFaculty members at the City Colleges of Chicago have voted no confidence in their chancellor, but he is determined to continue to push the system to alter its ways. VOTING NOA faculty vote of no-confidence in a president affects the entire university, but it means only what the trustees want it to mean, writes Kenneth A. Shaw, chancellor emeritus and university professor at Syracuse University. CLASS NOTESMore than ever, faculty members are being recruited to raise money for their departments. TAINTED LOVE? Mississippi College isn't saying what it will do with the $36.5-million it received from Bernard J. Ebbers, who was convicted in WorldCom's $11-billion accounting fraud. NOT AT THOSE PRICES: Alumni of Elizabeth City State University are boycotting town hotels, saying they jack up room rates for homecoming weekend. DECISION NOT FINAL: Recent court rulings have stayed an accreditor's decision to penalize two colleges, which could spell difficulties for a system based on peer review. OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS: Iowa and Georgia have decided on different approaches to keeping the names of donors to university foundations private. PEER REVIEW: Anne D. Yoder has been hired away from Yale University to head Duke University's Primate Center. ... Marc Bousquet, whose writings on academic labor include the book The Waste Product of Graduate Education, is moving from the University of Louisville to Santa Clara University. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news. Information TechnologyLET THE GOOD TUNES ROLL?Professors joined the debate as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the movie industry's file-sharing suit against Grokster. LONG, LONG DISTANCE: Officials at rural South Dakota high schools rushed to sign their students up for higher-level courses taught by video from Northern State University. ALLONS ENFANTS: The president of France, challenging Google's book-digitization plans, wants to make millions of European literary works accessible on the Internet. INSTANT NUISANCE: Unsolicited text advertisements are popping up on the cellphones of a growing number of college students, according to a Ball State study. THE MORE THINGS CHANGE: SunGard Data Systems, parent company of several vendors that serve colleges, will be sold. THE WIRED CAMPUS: A roundup of higher-education news. StudentsALGORITHMS: WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?In a fiercely competitive contest, young computer programmers battle for reputation, money, and the sheer joy of solving complicated problems with long lines of code. 'WE'LL FIGHT LIKE CRAZY'Advocates for LEAP, a federal program that matches state support for need-based student aid, have vowed to keep it going even though the Bush administration wants to eliminate it. DARTMOUTH DAZEIn the 1970s one of the first women at the previously all-male college coped by being a tough cookie, a wiseguy, and a feminist. It was worth it, writes Gina Barreca, a professor of English literature and feminist theory at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. FACE-CONSCIOUS AID: A new Web site encourages high-school students to post pictures of themselves in a contest to win a $20,000 college scholarship. NO HURRY: The proportion of colleges that reported a decrease in early-action applications tripled from 2003 to 2004, according to a national report on admissions. PAY AND GO: In an attempt to cut costs and improve its graduation rate, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale plans to give $500 cash rewards to students who graduate within four years. AthleticsA WIN FOR WHISTLE-BLOWERSThe U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Title IX protects people who act as advocates for victims of sex discrimination. IT'S WHO YOU KNOWPeople who hold top college-athletics positions have been helped by those who came before, and that is part of the reason why women and nonwhite men have such a hard time, research shows. LITTLE LOVE: The U.S. Department of Education has not exactly gotten popular by easing the rules for compliance with Title IX's gender-equity provisions. InternationalBREAKING WITH TRADITIONBucerius Law School, Germany's first private institution of legal education, has adapted its curriculum for the modern lawyer. OUSTED FOR BRIBERY: Nigeria's education minister sued the government after being fired for his purported role in a corruption scandal. ISRAELI PROTEST: Students demand more money for colleges, and a movie producer ponies up $100-million. WATERED DOWN? South Korea's government wants 25 percent of the country's private universities to close, citing a perceived drop in standards. PAYING THE PRICE: Recent legislation allows universities in England to raise their rates, and almost all of them are taking advantage of the opportunity. STAND UP, STEP DOWN: Ukraine's leader encourages government officers who abused their positions in the recent contentious election to resign. IMPROVING ACCESS: Brazil gives tax incentives to private universities that provide scholarships to poor, indigenous, or Afro-Brazilian students. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news Notes From AcademeSAVE THE WOMBATSBerlin's great Museum für Naturkunde, which houses 25 million specimens but still bears bomb damage from World War II, recently faced extinction. The Chronicle Review2 PAGES A DAYTeaching and writing aren't mutually exclusive. The secret is to make use of little pockets of time, writes Jay Parini, a poet, a novelist, and a professor of English at Middlebury College. DARTMOUTH DAZEIn the 1970s one of the first women at the previously all-male college coped by being a tough cookie, a wiseguy, and a feminist. It was worth it, writes Gina Barreca, a professor of English literature and feminist theory at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. EMBRYONIC MORALITYWhen neuroethicists consider at what point an embryo becomes a human, moral arguments get mixed in with biology. The result can be a stew of passions, beliefs, and stubborn, illogical opinion, writes Michael S. Gazzaniga, a professor of cognitive neuroscience and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College. VOTING NOA faculty vote of no-confidence in a president affects the entire university, but it means only what the trustees want it to mean, writes Kenneth A. Shaw, chancellor emeritus and university professor at Syracuse University. CRITICAL CONDITIONSomething is missing from contemporary discussions of theater. We are in an era of major playwrights without major drama critics, writes Carlin Romano, critic at large for The Chronicle. PARALLEL DIASPORASThe experiences of Jews in 19th-century Europe and of Muslims in today's show some striking similarities, writes Sander L. Gilman, a professor of liberal arts and sciences at Emory University in the fall. VISION TRANSFORMEDMeridel Rubenstein's images remind us that how we perceive the world is how we engage with it. GUIDING PRINCIPLESIn these politically charged times, we must reaffirm the value of academic freedom and the responsibilities that come with it, writes Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University. THE SHORT LIST: Scholars recall their favorite courses. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersDIARY OF A JOINT SEARCH, PART 3How does a program maneuver to gain the upper hand in a dual hire with a more powerful department? WORDS WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN CASHThe narrative section can make or break a grant proposal, so give it the attention it deserves. CLASS NOTESMore than ever, faculty members are being recruited to raise money for their departments. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe Gazette |