DOCTORAL PURGATORY
Ph.D. students who find themselves trapped and jobless in A.B.D. status are going to considerable lengths to finish their dissertations: A18

STILL MOSTLY WHITE MALES
In a new book, two political scientists say affirmative action has had little impact on college and university faculties: A20

PEER REVIEW
Harvard University narrows search for director of Nieman Foundation for Journalism. ... Thirty-three-year-old vies for third college presidency. ... University of Pennsylvania law school names one of its own as dean: A14

THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
Frederick Grinnell, a cell biologist and the director of the program in ethics in science and medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, writes that the everyday practice of science balances between realism and social construct: B11

PRESERVING A PRISTINE LAKE
Scholars from Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences are helping to protect a Mongolian lake from environmental damage: B12

New fellowships to help scholars with young families have drawn few applicants: A18

In Box: tips on deciphering the lingo scientists use in their research papers: A14

SCHOLAR ON THE STUMP
Cornel West, a Harvard University professor, joined Bill Bradley's presidential campaign to spread a message of justice. He was heard, but his candidate lost: A21

ROCKING THE CRADLE
A new round of psychological research is changing ideas of how infants interpret the world: A22

HOT TYPE
Melbourne University Press rejected it, but a volume blasting Australian higher education is selling nicely. ... The Virginia Quarterly Review celebrates 75 years with an anthology: A26

NEW PLANNING STRATEGIES
Some college officials are experimenting with computer techniques that may provide better ways to predict students' choices for courses, housing, and other campus services: A51

New scholarly books: A24-30

• Nota Bene: A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion, by Daniel A. Dombrowski and Robert Deltete.

• Verbatim: Misogynous Economies: The Business of Literature in Eighteenth-Century Britain, by Laura Mandell.

ACCESS AMERICA, NO MORE
The Education Department has pulled the plug on a key part of its heralded effort to modernize the delivery of student aid: A32

DON'T ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL
A key U.S. lawmaker warned the Education Department not to dip into next year's funds to fix this year's mistake of awarding too many fellowships to graduate students: A33

A CALL FOR OPEN RESEARCH
President Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain urged all scientists mapping the human genome to publish their data freely and rapidly: A34

APPROPRIATIONS BATTLES
Republican lawmakers are making it difficult for Congress to meet President Clinton's budget requests for education and science: A35

CREATING CHARTER COLLEGES
Several states are exploring the idea of giving some public institutions more freedom from regulation in return for meeting certain goals: A36

WHY NOT CHARTER COLLEGES?
They would revitalize higher education by providing competitive, creative, and energetic alternatives, say Stephen H. Balch, president of the National Association of Scholars, and Michael K. Block, a professor of law and economics at the University of Arizona: A68

STILL MOSTLY WHITE MALES
In a new book, two political scientists say affirmative action has had little impact on college and university faculties: A20

SCHOLAR ON THE STUMP
Cornel West, a Harvard University professor, joined Bill Bradley's presidential campaign to spread a message of justice. He was heard, but his candidate lost: A21

Vice President Al Gore defended affirmative action in Florida, where his Republican rival's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, is seeking to restrict it: A32

The main lobbying group for college students, the United States Student Association, rallied on Capitol Hill for more financial aid: A32

Fact File: the top 100 colleges and universities in federal research-and-development expenditures, 1997 and 1998: A34

Republicans in the House of Representatives said last week that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration might not get more research funds for 2001: A35

Thirteen black colleges received waivers from rules on student-loan defaults that could otherwise have led to their expulsion from federal aid programs: A35

The secretary of education, Richard W. Riley, promoted bilingual education in a speech on the status of educating Hispanic-Americans: A35

The Senate approved a bill that would provide tax breaks to parents saving for college and to people paying off student loans, among others: A35

The University of New Hampshire dropped a policy that gave housing preferences to minority and international students: A38

Votes on two ballot measures defied the preferences of California community colleges: A38

An Ohio bill would bar offensive speech by public-college officials: A38

New federal regulatory actions: A35

THE COST OF FREE TUITION
Facing deficits, trustees of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art hope to take advantage of the institution's prime New York real estate: A40

A FINDING OF DISCRIMINATION
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found that a University of Houston lawyer mistreated two female subordinates: A42

CONTROVERSY AT ALBRIGHT
A trustee resigned to protest the way college officials have handled reports that the new president's resume is misleading: A43

TECHNOLOGY AT BLACK COLLEGES
Three major corporations have announced that they are donating $101-million worth of software, hardware, and training: A52

The Higher Education Price Index, which measures colleges' expenses, is up for sale: A40

The attorney general of Massachusetts has filed a complaint against Harvard University over its objection to a nonprofit group's use of the Harvard name: A40

Foundation grants; gifts and bequests: A42

TEACHING COMPUTER SECURITY
People with the expertise to protect networks are a hot commodity, but universities can't afford the experts to train them: A45

ONLINE COURSES FOR SALE
Cornell University has created a for-profit subsidiary to market its distance-education offerings: A47

CHOOSING 'WIRED' CAMPUSES
Educause has published a guide to the questions applicants should ask about colleges' computer facilities: A49

NEW PLANNING STRATEGIES
Some college officials are experimenting with computer techniques that may provide better ways to predict students' choices for courses, housing, and other campus services: A51

COLLABORATION IN ILLINOIS
Two-year colleges are crafting a system for sharing online courses that would let students pick from offerings by all the institutions: A52

TECHNOLOGY AT BLACK COLLEGES
Three major corporations have announced that they are donating $101-million worth of software, hardware, and training: A52

LOGGING IN
Patricia Spence, a communications instructor at Richland College, tells how she teaches public speaking online: A46

A software billionaire announced plans to create a free online university, starting with $100-million of his own money: A45

Britain's Open University plans to hold its first virtual commencement this month: A49

BEACH-BLANKET RECRUITMENT
At a spring-break jobs fair on Florida's Gulf Coast, businesses scoped out potential employees: A53

BINGE DRINKING ON THE RISE
Harvard University researchers found that the number of students who drink heavily and often is growing, as is the proportion of those who abstain: A55

CHOOSING 'WIRED' CAMPUSES
Educause has published a guide to the questions applicants should ask about colleges' computer facilities: A49

A gay student at Tufts University is lobbying for the creation of coed housing: A53

The student newspaper at Pennsylvania State University's main campus fired an editor for fabricating a vulgar quotation: A53

Short Subjects: University of North Alabama mulls new lion mascot; animal-rights campaign to promote beer fizzles; UMass students irked by beer limits; University of Arizona freshman makes unusual bid for extension; Elmhurst College offers free scholarship by balloon: A12

HER HOOP DREAMS
Rachel Toor is a new fan of women's basketball, where she finds both hope and apprehension. The author is a former editor at Oxford and Duke University Presses and now works in admissions at Duke: B7

Albany State University was punished by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for awarding too many scholarships: A56

The University of Miami dropped men's swimming and rowing teams to help it comply with federal gender-equity law: A56

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is considering yet another move of its headquarters: A56

People in athletics: A56

FROM SHEEP TO COMPUTERS
New Zealand has not placed much emphasis on higher education, but a new government is trying to be "college friendly": A57

PRESERVING A PRISTINE LAKE
Scholars from Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences are helping to protect a Mongolian lake from environmental damage: B12

World Beat: Israeli institute extends olive branch to Palestinian students; survey finds Australian academics stressed out; Russian students duped into political fraud: A57

In Costa Rica, a student and a former student from Antioch College were killed: A58

The Middle East Studies Association of North America has criticized the arrest of two academics at Kuwait University: A58

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is protesting a federal report that encourages the commercialization of academic research: A58

WHY NOT CHARTER COLLEGES?
They would revitalize higher education by providing competitive, creative, and energetic alternatives, say Stephen H. Balch, president of the National Association of Scholars, and Michael K. Block, a professor of law and economics at the University of Arizona: A68

GAINING A DAUGHTER
Lennard J. Davis, a professor of English at the State University of New York at Binghamton, teaches that gender is a social construct, but he realized the limits of that theory when his son put it into practice: B4

HER HOOP DREAMS
Rachel Toor is a new fan of women's basketball, where she finds both hope and apprehension. The author is a former editor at Oxford and Duke University Presses and now works in admissions at Duke: B7

THE SWEET SMELL OF FAILURE
The movie Wonder Boys, about an English professor in free fall, offers a prettified view of creative writing, argues Stephen Dobyns, a former professor of English and director of creative writing at Syracuse University: B10

THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
Frederick Grinnell, a cell biologist and the director of the program in ethics in science and medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, writes that the everyday practice of science balances between realism and social construct: B11

Counterpoint: Genetically modified organisms benefit business, not the public, argue two academics: B15

• Academic protests of discrimination by a company, city, or state: B3

• Saving the environment and feeding the world: B14

• Tips for using e-mail with students: B14

• Racial preferences in college admissions: B14

• Charge of plagiarism in Lincoln biography: B14

• Application essays and imagination: B15

• Student newspapers at black colleges: B15

• Methodologies for ranking colleges: B15

• Including all presidential candidates: B15

MIDLIFE CRISIS ON THE FACULTY
In a new play by Anthony Giardina, a former adjunct faculty member at Mount Holyoke College, six professors face private and professional struggles: B2

THE SWEET SMELL OF FAILURE
The movie Wonder Boys, about an English professor in free fall, offers a prettified view of creative writing, argues Stephen Dobyns, a former professor of English and director of creative writing at Syracuse University: B10

'WHISPERS FROM THE WALLS'
An exhibition of artworks by Whitfield Lovell, who uses historical images of African-American everyday life, is at the Jones Center for Contemporary Art, in Austin, Tex.: B108

• APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS on U.S. campuses.

• DEATHS of people in academe.

• COMING EVENTS: conferences, workshops, and seminars.

• DEADLINES for fellowships, grants, the submission of papers, and more.

DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe.