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From the issue dated September 22, 2006 |
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Short SubjectsTERMINAL-DEGREE MURDERA new campus murder-mystery novel reminds us of some of the old ones. CHINESE GREEN: Peking University faces criticism for plans to build a golf driving range on the campus. X MARKS THE SPOT: University of Florida athletics officials were red-faced after handing out T-shirts bearing the Roman numerals "XXVI" instead of "MMVI," as was intended. WHAT THEY'RE READING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A list of the best-selling books. The FacultyTHIS JOB JUST INA growing number of anonymous online rumor mills post faculty positions and report on the contenders. FREE SPEECH 5 YEARS LATERDespite some scholars' fears after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, most agree that protections for academic freedom remain strong. THE IMMOBILITY OF THE ASSOCIATE PROFESSORShould a tenured faculty member buck the odds and re-enter the academic job market? SYLLABUS: An Israeli and a Palestinian team-teach a summer course on conflict resolution at the University of Maryland at College Park. PEER REVIEW: The medical dean at the University of Texas Medical Branch resigns after her husband is attacked. ... Stephen Hawking posts a job advertisement. ... A new director is in place at the California Community College Collaborative. ENROLLMENT INCREASE: The number of graduate students in American colleges and universities continued to rise in 2005, according to a report. POSITION ON PART-TIMERS: The American Association of University Professors has drafted an update to its stance on how adjunct professors should be treated. COLLECTIVE-BARGAINING AGREEMENT: A three-year standoff between administrators and the faculty union at Emerson College has finally come to an end. Research & BooksIDENTITY IMPOLITICIn his new book, the literary scholar Walter Benn Michaels argues that America's fascination with race and gender blocks progress toward economic equality. COLLECT YOURSELFThe books on the shelves of a writer are a window into his inspirations and aspirations, writes Jay Parini, a novelist, poet, and professor of English at Middlebury College. TRAUMA QUEENWhy are we so fascinated by Marie Antoinette? asks Camille Paglia, a professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia. RICH TEXTOpinion journals are academics' path to the fertile intellectual commons. Far too few of us venture there, writes Mark Oppenheimer, editor of the triannual opinion journal In Character. REGARDING HENRIKIbsen is that rare playwright who can reach the centenary of his death and still be cutting edge, writes Julia M. Klein, a cultural reporter and critic. SCIENCE ON THE CHEAPHow do you set up a research laboratory when you don't have lab space, start-up money, or a grants office to appeal to for help? VERBATIM: An associate professor of theater and dance at the University of California at Davis discusses the serious side of Kinky Friedman's campaign for governor of Texas. NOTA BENE: The art of the mockumentary is analyzed in "F Is for Phony: Fake Documentary and Truth's Undoing." HOT TYPE: Physicists and presidents of liberal-arts colleges work to secure open access to published research. ENCOURAGING NEWS FOR RESEARCH: The U.S. House of Representatives has drafted legislation to authorize spending increases of up to 5 percent a year for the National Institutes of Health. MAJOR RESEARCH GRANTS: The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that it has awarded $60-million for supercomputing projects at 70 universities and laboratories. Government & PoliticsDEEPER IN DEBTAs private lenders rush into the student-loan market, more students borrow money at rates they may not be able to afford. CONGRESS ON OFFENSEA U.S. House of Representatives committee is scrutinizing the academic problems of athletes and the tax-exempt status of the NCAA and athletics conferences. WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE ...Liberals who publicly play down the importance of a college education are viewing data myopically and perpetuating an elitist worldview. Moreover, you can bet they're telling their own kids something very different, writes Anthony P. Carnevale, a senior fellow at the National Center on Education and the Economy. MIDTERM OUTLOOKWill the Democrats take Congress this November? Some recent books will help you read the tea leaves, writes Michael Nelson, a professor of political science at Rhodes College. ASSESSING ASSESSMENTWith its emphasis on accountability measures, the Spellings commission has elicited legitimate qualms. But steps toward some common indicators of educational progress make sense, and they're feasible, writes Margaret A. Miller, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Virginia. ENCOURAGING NEWS FOR RESEARCH: The U.S. House of Representatives has drafted legislation to authorize spending increases of up to 5 percent a year for the National Institutes of Health. 'THE POLITICS OF INCLUSION': Efforts to enroll low-income students need support from inside and outside academe, a panel of student-aid officials and others has concluded. UNDER FIRE: The chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha has resigned after months of controversy over university officials' use of funds from athletics boosters. AT AN END: Plaintiffs in Tennessee's 38-year-old college-desegregation lawsuit have joined state and higher-education officials to announce that they were asking a federal judge to formally end the case. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news in the states. NOT ENOUGH MONEY: Millions of qualified high-school graduates will continue to lose access to higher education because of financial strains, a report says. OVER A PORK BARREL: A U.S. senator has criticized colleges that have not responded to his request for details on Congressional earmarks they have received. CREEPING UP: The rate at which borrowers default on their federal student loans has increased slightly, U.S. Department of Education officials have announced. THE MINISTERIAL EXCEPTION: A federal appeals-court ruling supported a Roman Catholic college's right to make ministry-personnel decisions without federal oversight. Money & ManagementSCHOOLYARD TUSSLEA young rival to the longtime accrediting agency for teacher-education programs has gained ground, although some college officials doubt the value of its "academic audit" approach. THANK GOD FOR FOOTBALLSaint Vincent College considers it a blessing to play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers' summer training camp. ONE DEADLINE FITS ALLAdmissions professionals have lauded Harvard's decision to eliminate its early-admission program in the name of access, but most doubt that many other colleges will follow suit. DEEPER IN DEBTAs private lenders rush into the student-loan market, more students borrow money at rates they may not be able to afford. FOOL'S GOLDTechnology transfer is rarely a get-rich-quick scheme for universities. And on the few occasions when it is, perhaps it shouldn't be, writes Joshua B. Powers, an associate professor of educational leadership, administration, and foundations at Indiana State University. ON THE SAME PAGE: Two colleges in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., will close their existing bookstores and go into business with Barnes & Noble. UNDER THE GUN: Colleges and universities are going to be hammered with litigation that will eventually compel them to give out information they now protect as private, one expert predicts. SHARED GOALS: Professors investigating plagiarism at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale have found that its strategic plan was lifted from Texas A&M University at College Station. GIFT TO JEWISH EDUCATION: Yeshiva University has received a $100-million donation, the largest in its history, officials have announced. OVERWORKED AND UNSAFE: A survey has shown that medical residents still frequently work more than 80 hours a week, despite officials' claims that hours have become more humane. NO SWAG: Stanford University has made new rules that forbid its doctors to receive any gifts from pharmaceutical companies. LEADER RESIGNS: The president of the Community College of Allegheny County, in Western Pennsylvania, has said he will step down in 2007. PEER REVIEW: The medical dean at the University of Texas Medical Branch resigns after her husband is attacked. ... Stephen Hawking posts a job advertisement. ... A new director is in place at the California Community College Collaborative. Information TechnologyFRESHMEN PLUG IN TO COLLEGEStudents are arriving on campuses this fall with more electronic gadgetry than ever. Their favorite technologies vary as much as the contents of their iPods. THIS JOB JUST INA growing number of anonymous online rumor mills post faculty positions and report on the contenders. MAJOR RESEARCH GRANTS: The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that it has awarded $60-million for supercomputing projects at 70 universities and laboratories. JUST IN CASE: Louisiana State University has made an agreement with Equifax to provide students and employees with free credit-report monitoring and identity-theft insurance. GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE: Facebook has announced plans to reach beyond college campuses to the wider Web, angering some students. ABOUT FACE: The social-networking site saves face by responding to privacy concerns over its recent redesign. THE WIRED CAMPUS: A roundup of higher-education-technology news. AthleticsCONGRESS ON OFFENSEA U.S. House of Representatives committee is scrutinizing the academic problems of athletes and the tax-exempt status of the NCAA and athletics conferences. NEW TITLE: Emory University has settled a federal gender-discrimination lawsuit by rehiring its former head women's soccer coach in a less prominent position. ALL RELATIVE: The NCAA has granted a financial waiver to a Clemson University freshman who is raising his younger brother. StudentsDEEPER IN DEBTAs private lenders rush into the student-loan market, more students borrow money at rates they may not be able to afford. ONE DEADLINE FITS ALLAdmissions professionals have lauded Harvard's decision to eliminate its early-admission program in the name of access, but most doubt that many other colleges will follow suit. FRESHMEN PLUG IN TO COLLEGEStudents are arriving on campuses this fall with more electronic gadgetry than ever. Their favorite technologies vary as much as the contents of their iPods. GOING COED: Despite protests from student and alumnae, Randolph-Macon Woman's College will begin admitting men. NEW POLICY: Students should not have to deal with "high-pressure sales tactics" from colleges during the application process, says the National Association for College Admission Counseling. InternationalNEW UNIVERSITIES, FAMILIAR GOALSAdministrators at institutions for the indigenous population in Latin America hope to both nurture local communities and help students succeed in the wider world. KILLING FIELDSThe bad news, a new book argues, is that genocide might not be as irrational as we'd like to believe. The good news is that humanity might be able to reason itself into more-peaceful courses of action, writes Carlin Romano, critic at large for The Chronicle. FROM FANTASIZER TO FULBRIGHT SCHOLARAn economist and single mother of four prepares to begin a 10-month appointment in China. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON: The educational systems of other countries are catching up and are even exceeding the performance of the American system, a report says. SHOOTING SPREE IN CANADA: A gunman killed an 18-year-old woman and wounded at least 19 other people, six critically, at a college in Montreal last week. He died in a shootout with police. NORTH OF THE BORDER: An assistant professor at San Francisco State University who was stranded in Canada because of visa problems was allowed back into the United States. POLITICAL SCIENCE: The Russian Cabinet has approved a proposal to strip the Russian Academy of Sciences of the power to select its own leaders and to allocate funds. GROWING FROM AFAR: International students now represent half of all graduate students at British universities, which are increasingly dependent on that enrollment to balance their budgets, a study has found. 'CRIMINAL DISINFORMATION': A Cambodian professor who has written a book criticizing his country's political leaders has been fired from his job and placed under arrest. Notes From AcademeTHANK GOD FOR FOOTBALLSaint Vincent College considers it a blessing to play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers' summer training camp. The Chronicle ReviewCOLLECT YOURSELFThe books on the shelves of a writer are a window into his inspirations and aspirations, writes Jay Parini, a novelist, poet, and professor of English at Middlebury College. WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE ...Liberals who publicly play down the importance of a college education are viewing data myopically and perpetuating an elitist worldview. Moreover, you can bet they're telling their own kids something very different, writes Anthony P. Carnevale, a senior fellow at the National Center on Education and the Economy. TRAUMA QUEENWhy are we so fascinated by Marie Antoinette? asks Camille Paglia, a professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia. KILLING FIELDSThe bad news, a new book argues, is that genocide might not be as irrational as we'd like to believe. The good news is that humanity might be able to reason itself into more-peaceful courses of action, writes Carlin Romano, critic at large for The Chronicle. RICH TEXTOpinion journals are academics' path to the fertile intellectual commons. Far too few of us venture there, writes Mark Oppenheimer, editor of the triannual opinion journal In Character. REGARDING HENRIKIbsen is that rare playwright who can reach the centenary of his death and still be cutting edge, writes Julia M. Klein, a cultural reporter and critic. FOOL'S GOLDTechnology transfer is rarely a get-rich-quick scheme for universities. And on the few occasions when it is, perhaps it shouldn't be, writes Joshua B. Powers, an associate professor of educational leadership, administration, and foundations at Indiana State University. MIDTERM OUTLOOKWill the Democrats take Congress this November? Some recent books will help you read the tea leaves, writes Michael Nelson, a professor of political science at Rhodes College. 'HUSK OF TIME'The photographer Victor Masayesva explores his place in the Hopi cosmos. ASSESSING ASSESSMENTWith its emphasis on accountability measures, the Spellings commission has elicited legitimate qualms. But steps toward some common indicators of educational progress make sense, and they're feasible, writes Margaret A. Miller, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Virginia. CRITICAL MASS: Scholars and journalists debate President Bush's characterization of America's enemies as "Islamic fascists." Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersFROM FANTASIZER TO FULBRIGHT SCHOLARAn economist and single mother of four prepares to begin a 10-month appointment in China. SCIENCE ON THE CHEAPHow do you set up a research laboratory when you don't have lab space, start-up money, or a grants office to appeal to for help? THE IMMOBILITY OF THE ASSOCIATE PROFESSORShould a tenured faculty member buck the odds and re-enter the academic job market? DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe Gazette |