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From the issue dated July 27, 2007 |
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Short SubjectsMOUSE BOOTS AND MONKEY CONDOMSResearch administrators recount some of the more offbeat items that scientists working on federal grants have purchased for their projects. SETTING THE CURVE: A student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, having earned his undergraduate degree in three semesters, kills time in law school before he can start medical school. 'PARTS IS PARTS' DEPARTMENT: A surgical professor at Northwestern University trolls adult stores for anatomically correct models of the human body. DRIVING DRUNKS: Four enterprising college students in New Jersey have started a taxi business to drive drinkers -- and their cars -- home from bars. WHAT THEY'RE READING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A list of the best-selling books. The FacultyDOGGEDLY DOCTORALAlthough new data from the Council of Graduate Schools indicate that students finish their Ph.D.'s sooner than thought, academics still express concern about how long the process takes. HAM, GRITS, AND ALL BUSINESSQuiester Craig has transformed a set of courses on secretarial skills into a top-flight program in management at North Carolina A&T.; ECHOES OF MCCARTHYISMWill the Roberts Supreme Court protect academic freedom? Mark C. Rahdert, a professor at Temple University's Beasley School of Law, says recent rulings aren't encouraging. $1.1-MILLION PAYMENT: The University of Missouri at Kansas City has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by two female employees who accused it of failing to stop sexual harassment. RARE VICTORY FOR ORGANIZED LABOR: The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that graduate students who work for research foundations attached to public universities have the right to unionize. PEER REVIEW: Eastern Oregon University brings back a veteran administrator as interim president. ...Massachusetts' governor must decide whether to remove a community-college board member who has been indicted on fraud and other charges. ...A former professor at Norfolk State University faces a long, politically motivated imprisonment in Ethiopia. ...And other comings and goings in academe. SYLLABUS: One undergraduate course at California State University-Channel Islands is positively beastly. FOOTNOTED: Who's saying what on academic blogs. Research & BooksDOGGEDLY DOCTORALAlthough new data from the Council of Graduate Schools indicate that students finish their Ph.D.'s sooner than thought, academics still express concern about how long the process takes. A POINTED CONTROVERSY: The government of Bosnia-Herzegovina has decided to pay for the excavation of what nationalists insist is an ancient manmade pyramid, despite the many scholars who say it is no such thing. DIGGING FOR DOLLARS: With federal budgets tight, big science tries to be more creative in raising research money. A proposed project in South Dakota shows how difficult that can be. HOT TYPE: Four new books explore the ways governments conduct counterterrorism efforts. NOTA BENE: A fellow at Harvard Medical School explores "the porous relationship between the science and marketing of health care" through an examination of three prescription drugs. Government & PoliticsAFTER VIRGINIA TECHDisagreements over policies on guns and mental health complicate legislative efforts to protect students on college campuses. DISCONNECTEDStudent-loan companies have long had powerful allies in the Bush administration, but as the industry deals with continuing scandals, many of those friendly faces are gone. BEYOND IRAQThe war dominates foreign-policy discussions, writes Joseph S. Nye Jr., a university distinguished-service professor at Harvard, but recent books remind us that America must renew its attention to broader global issues. ECHOES OF MCCARTHYISMWill the Roberts Supreme Court protect academic freedom? Mark C. Rahdert, a professor at Temple University's Beasley School of Law, says recent rulings aren't encouraging. 'NOT JUST A GAME': Florida universities plan for cuts of up to 10 percent in state support as tax revenue declines. A QUESTION OF STANDARDS: The government's system for accrediting colleges is a misguided failure that should be replaced with something simpler, says an activist group of trustees. MONEY TALKS: Public-university chiefs acknowledge ties past and present with contributions to candidates for U.S. president. LESSON LEARNED: A Philadelphia university that failed to work with a state lawmaker advocating for home-schooled students has been schooled by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. TECH-TRANSFER BLUES: The marriage between industries and colleges could be described as stable but in need of counseling, witnesses testified at a Congressional hearing. $3-MILLION PENALTY: The U.S. Department of Energy said it would punish the University of California for security lapses at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news from Washington. PLAYING POLITICS?: The Louisiana State University medical professor arrested in connection with four deaths in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has sued the state's attorney general. STOPGAP MEASURE: California creates a temporary process for proprietary colleges to be regulated by the state after their regulatory body closes. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news from the states. Money & Management'JUST NOT UP TO THE JOB'A mishandled campus murder investigation has cost the president of Eastern Michigan University his position, but his troubles began much earlier. HAM, GRITS, AND ALL BUSINESSQuiester Craig has transformed a set of courses on secretarial skills into a top-flight program in management at North Carolina A&T.; READY FOR OUR CLOSE-UPWhen campuses become film sets, Hollywood deals put college ideals in compromising positions, says Jeffrey J. Williams, an English professor at Carnegie Mellon University. ANGLING FOR MIDDLE-CLASS STUDENTS: Amherst College has become the third institution to announce that it will replace loans with scholarships in its student-aid packages. SWEAT EQUITY: Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, says it can help colleges build stadiums, arenas, and practice complexes without borrowing money. CHOOSING PRIORITIES: Spending on sports facilities could prevent colleges from borrowing money for academic purposes, a report says. ACCREDITATION UPDATE: Recent actions taken by regional groups. HOW THEY GOT THAT GIFT: After turning the donation down, the Culinary Institute of American finally accepted $35-million from a salsa magnate. 'OUT OF SYNC': Roger Williams University will replace its trustees with a larger, more diverse board after the longtime chairman used a racial slur during a meeting. UNHEALTHY PROSPECT: The United States could face a shortage of 24,000 doctors and nearly a million nurses by 2020, says a report by a health-care-research group. LACK OF EVIDENCE: A Pennsylvania judge has dismissed a 2005 lawsuit in which a former provost of Albright College accused a trustee of undermining his bid to become president. Information TechnologyBOT IT LIKE BECKHAMStudents from around the world designed soccer-playing robots to compete in RoboCup 2007 at Georgia Tech this month. PUBLIC ACCESS TO IDEAS: The developers of free archive software hope to make it more attractive to scholars with the help of a new foundation. AthleticsSWEAT EQUITY: Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, says it can help colleges build stadiums, arenas, and practice complexes without borrowing money. CHOOSING PRIORITIES: Spending on sports facilities could prevent colleges from borrowing money for academic purposes, a report says. PAIR ON PROBATION: The NCAA has penalized two universities for unethical conduct of players and a coach. EFFECTS OF TITLE IX: The debate over whether increased college-athletics opportunities for women have contributed to declines for men has flared up again with the release of a federal report on trends over a 14-year span. StudentsHARD TO SWALLOWThe cost of prescription birth control at college health centers will rise sharply as a result of new federal regulations. DOGGEDLY DOCTORALAlthough new data from the Council of Graduate Schools indicate that students finish their Ph.D.'s sooner than thought, academics still express concern about how long the process takes. AFTER VIRGINIA TECHDisagreements over policies on guns and mental health complicate legislative efforts to protect students on college campuses. InternationalCONVICTED IN BRAZIL: Four men who committed an armed robbery in which an American anthropologist was killed have been sentenced to prison. PROTEST IN ISRAEL: Student leaders threaten a strike in response to a tuition increase that is part of a series of changes in the country's system of higher education. NO BRAIN DRAIN: The perception that Britain is losing a lot of academic talent to overseas institutions is inaccurate, a study has found. Notes From AcademeTHE JOY OF SOYThe National Association of College and University Food Services has chosen its chef of the year on the basis of his creativity with tofu. The Chronicle ReviewBEYOND IRAQThe war dominates foreign-policy discussions, writes Joseph S. Nye Jr., a university distinguished-service professor at Harvard, but recent books remind us that America must renew its attention to broader global issues. POETIC LICENSE EXAMAdvice from Evan Eisenberg, an author in New York City: Make sure your ode is up to code. READY FOR OUR CLOSE-UPWhen campuses become film sets, Hollywood deals put college ideals in compromising positions, says Jeffrey J. Williams, an English professor at Carnegie Mellon University. INVISIBLE BOOKA new biography provides the context for Ralph Ellison's failure to finish a second novel, says David Yaffe, an assistant professor of English at Syracuse University. WORD CHALLENGEDWe seem to be losing the ability to discuss disability, warns Mark Aronoff, a professor of linguistics and associate provost at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. ECHOES OF MCCARTHYISMWill the Roberts Supreme Court protect academic freedom? Mark C. Rahdert, a professor at Temple University's Beasley School of Law, says recent rulings aren't encouraging. DIS-ORIENTEDThe Japanese-American artist Roger Shimomura depicts the floating world of his cultural identity. DECONSTRUCT THIS: The fair-trade movement. CRITICAL MASS: The irrationality of voters. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersON THE ORIGIN OF ACADEMIC SPECIESIf you are a woman in academic science, here are the archetypes who can derail your career. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TEACHING CENTER: You may never find a book or Web site that relates to your particular classroom struggles, but there is a place you can go that does: a teaching center. MY LEFT TACKLE: Although it can be bruising, having the fluff knocked out of your prose is not a bad thing. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe Gazette |