A Guide to the April 26, 1996, Issue
of The Chronicle of Higher Education
Items relevant to more than one category
may appear more than once in this guide.
To read the complete text of the article, click on the highlighted words.
INTERNATIONAL
IN FRANCE, TENSE REACTIONS TO REFORM
University leaders have voiced alarm over proposed changes to
the higher-education system -- including the possibility of
selective admissions -- that were leaked to the press.
IN ISRAEL, THE QUEST FOR JOBS
Some of the thousands of scientists who have recently
immigrated from Russia are complaining that the Israeli
government has not done enough to find them work.
IN CANADA, NO FALLOUT OVER BIG PAYCHECKS
The country has barely reacted to the first public disclosure
of the salaries paid to top university officials.
IN BRITAIN, THE RETURN OF A CONTROVERSIAL GIFT
The University of Oxford has agreed to give back the equivalent
of $532,000 that it received from the grandson of a Nazi war
criminal.
ALSO IN BRITAIN, MIXED COMPANY
The United Oxford and Cambridge Universities Club, an all-male
bastion since the reign of George III, has finally voted to
offer full membership to women.
- IN THE UNITED STATES, President Clinton vetoed a bill that
could have led to the elimination of the United States
Information Agency, which runs many exchange programs.
- IN ALGERIA, university workers suspended their strike last
week.
- IN SUDAN, female students will soon be required to wear
Islamic head coverings.
- IN ISRAEL, Tel Hai College, which is located near the
Lebanese border, suspended classes because of Hezbollah
shelling.
- IN HONG KONG, two student protesters were ejected from a
meeting about the colony's return to Chinese control.
RESEARCH & PUBLISHING
DO PRISONS WORK?
While politicians score points with the public by acting tough
on crime, many scholars argue about the extent to which
incarceration really reduces the incidence of crime.
EVOLUTIONARY INSIGHTS
New theories about unusual fossils unearthed in the Canadian
Rockies are stirring debate among scholars about the Cambrian
Period, perhaps the most important stage in the rise of animal
life.
HEALTH DATA ON THE INTERNET
The National Library of Medicine has made its huge collection
of data bases accessible via the World-Wide Web.
THE ETHICS OF CLINICAL TRIALS
Researchers are questioning whether the scientific value of
placebo controls outweighs the cost to sick patients who
receive placebos, not medicine.
PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS
VIOLENCE IN THE SCHOOLS
Teacher-education programs at some universities have begun
training their students to handle violent incidents inside and
outside the classroom.
CATHOLIC CLASH
The Rev. Richard P. McBrien, a theologian at the University of
Notre Dame, is standing by his textbook Catholicism despite
sharp criticism of it by a committee of bishops.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
POLICING CYBERSPACE
Evidence presented at a hearing by U.S. Justice Department
lawyers has left colleges more alarmed than ever over the
impact of a new law restricting "indecency" on line.
PREPARING FOR THE MILLENNIUM
Colleges will have to reprogram their computer systems if they
want to avoid large-scale problems when 2000 rolls around.
HEALTH DATA ON THE INTERNET
The National Library of Medicine has made its huge collection
of data bases accessible via the World-Wide Web.
FEDERAL & STATE GOVERNMENTS (U.S.A.)
ON THE DEFENSIVE
The court ruling that struck down racial preferences in
admissions at the University of Texas's law school has set off
a chain reaction of legal and political challenges to other
minority-oriented programs in higher education.
CLASH OF VALUES
Conservative legislators in several states are trying to block
public colleges and universities from providing any support to
gay-student groups.
THE ETHICS OF CLINICAL TRIALS
Researchers are questioning whether the scientific value of
placebo controls outweighs the cost to sick patients who
receive placebos, not medicine.
SPENDING ON SCIENCE
A report by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science foresees big cuts in civilian research and development
if the President and Congress proceed with plans to balance the
federal budget by slashing discretionary spending.
- UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TRUSTEES have voted down a proposal
to eliminate General College, a facility for students needing
remedial help.
- A CALIFORNIA JUDGE last week refused to dismiss a lawsuit
challenging the way the University of California regents
voted last summer to ban racial and gender preferences.
- THE ALABAMA SENATE has been chipping away at Gov. Fob
James's control of public-college governing boards.
- THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY'S faculty has
voted to continue to allow R.O.T.C. programs on the campus,
despite what some call the Pentagon's anti-gay policies.
- PRESIDENT CLINTON'S PLAN to create new merit scholarships
faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats at a
House of Representatives hearing last week.
- PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS VETOED a bill that could have led to
the elimination of the United States Information Agency,
which runs many exchange programs.
- AFTER A 21-YEAR FIGHT, tapes from the Presidency of Richard
M. Nixon will soon be made available to the public.
- A KEY CONGRESSMAN said last week that he would push for more
funds for the National Institutes of Health in 1997.
- EIGHT NEW BILLS IN CONGRESS and three Congressional hearings
scheduled between now and May 16.
BUSINESS & PHILANTHROPY
THE HIGH COST OF EXCELLENCE
Charles Clotfelter, an economist at Duke University, suggests
in a new book that elite colleges raised spending and tuition
in the 1980s in an effort to outpace their competition.
A MAN OF CONVICTION
Petr Taborsky, a former student at the University of South
Florida, has gone to jail rather than return disputed research
notes. He has been assigned to a chain gang.
RETURNING A CONTROVERSIAL GIFT
The University of Oxford has agreed to give back the equivalent
of $532,000 that it received from the grandson of a Nazi war
criminal.
- THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY has received the papers and
memorabilia of the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.
- THE PRESIDENT OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY, James Doti, mediated an
agreement between the Walt Disney Company and Anaheim, Cal.,
that will keep the Angels baseball team in that city.
- THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA has agreed to pay the Internal
Revenue Service more than $1.45-million in back taxes on
profits from a drug used to ease organ transplants.
- SOUTHERN VIRGINIA COLLEGE, which was scheduled to close in
May because of financial problems, will stay open thanks to
some timely help from Mormons.
- THE MASK AND WIG CLUB, a theater group at the University of
Pennsylvania, plans to sell a famous Maxfield Parrish mural
in a controversial effort to raise funds.
- THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA is taking great pains to
secure its campus after receiving a bomb threat.
STUDENTS
CRIME ON THE CAMPUS
The Chronicle's annual survey shows a marked increase in
on-campus murders, forcible-sex offenses, drug infractions, and
underage drinking.
PROTESTS AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Under threat of arrest, students ended their occupation of an
administration building without attaining their goal -- the
creation of a department of ethnic studies.
CLASH OF VALUES
Conservative legislators in several states are trying to block
public colleges and universities from providing any support to
gay-student groups.
A MAN OF CONVICTION
Petr Taborsky, a former student at the University of South
Florida, has gone to jail rather than return disputed research
notes. He has been assigned to a chain gang.
ATHLETICS
STAYING IN THE COMPETITION
Vanderbilt University's commitment to academics has helped make
it a weak competitor in many sports, but a new report from
university trustees recommends that the Commodores remain in
the competitive Southeastern Conference.
ATHLETES WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced changes
last week in the way it determines their eligibility.
- A CALIFORNIA COURT HAS DISMISSED a libel suit filed against
the University of California at Berkeley by Lou Campanelli,
who was fired as its men's basketball coach in 1993.
- A UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SWIMMER, Tom Dolan, will give up
his senior year of eligibility in order to participate in
promotional activities for this summer's Olympics.
- ATHLETES TEND TO ENGAGE in more-reckless behavior than peers
who are not involved in sports, according to a scholar at
the University of California at Los Angeles.
- A UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LINEBACKER and a female friend of his
were found slain in a campus apartment.
OPINION & LETTERS
SHAKY TIMES FOR WOMEN'S STUDIES
Despite some gains, scholars in the field still complain of
academic isolation and a lack of financial support, write Alice
Kessler-Harris, a historian at Rutgers University, and Amy
Swerdlow, a professor emeritus at Sarah Lawrence College.
AN INHERITANCE OF IDEALISM
Reviving the intellectual and social fervor of the 1960s could
make education more relevant in the 1990s, writes Jay Parini,
a professor of English at Middlebury College.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE ARTS
SACRED SPACE
Saint Louis University is home to the world's first interfaith
museum of contemporary religious art.
REFLECTIONS OF REALITY
The new book Louise Bourgeois: Drawings & Observations
accompanies an exhibition of her work at the Drawing Center in
New York City. The exhibit will run through June 8.
- A POSTER THAT REPLACES the heads of Jesus and his apostles
in Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" with the heads of
great female artists has sparked criticism at Franklin and
Marshall College.
- AN ILLUMINATION-ART EXHIBIT at the University of Wisconsin
at Madison featured the works of students and professors.