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From the issue dated October 5, 2007 |
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Short SubjectsGOING TO EXTREMESColleges and their students are obvious partners in the quest for publicity and immortality that a Guinness world record can bring. DEAL AT THE 19TH HOLE: The University of British Columbia has aced the acquisition of the world's largest collection of books about golf. GETTING DEFENSIVE: Students and alumni at Fort Hays State University are wary of a proposal to change its name to the University of Western Kansas. WHEY COOL: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison use a byproduct of cheese production to produce a new sports drink for Badger athletes. The FacultyWAR OF WORDSLee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, raised bitterly contested issues of free speech at a campus appearance last week by the leader of Iran. It was not the first such controversy during Mr. Bollinger's tenure. FRESH PERSPECTIVESThe benefits of studying abroad are increasingly recognized. The benefits of teaching abroad are less appreciated, but no less significant, writes Donald E. Hall, chairman of the English department at West Virginia University. 5 REASONS POLITICIANS HATE USBetween the worlds of politics and higher education lies a lot of misunderstanding. PEER REVIEW: The chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is stepping down. ... The head of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is leaving. ... The chairman of the anthropology department at Washington University in St. Louis will become dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. ... A Princeton University professor has been named poetry editor of The New Yorker. THE ARTS & ACADEME: A world-class, $100-million concert hall under construction at Sonoma State University raises some jeers. ... Duke University celebrates Thelonious Monk. ... 1950s-vacation nostalgia appears in New York City, courtesy of a professor at the State University of New York College at Purchase. Research & BooksCELLULAR ALCHEMISTSThwarted by legal restrictions, stem-cell researchers explore new ways to get human eggs — and to make them. ONE GOOD TURNBrown University, which is caring for a 273-foot-long panorama of Garibaldi's life, just has to figure out what to do with it. ANGER MANAGEMENTBiology makes us want to retaliate for aggression even if we can't direct the retaliation at our aggressor, writes David P. Barash, author of a forthcoming book about redirected aggression. DANGEROUS SCHOLARSHIPRepressive regimes know that dialogue, criticism, and analysis are their enemies, which is why studying such regimes will always be risky business. Just ask Haleh Esfandiari, writes Daniel Byman, director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University. AN OBJECT LESSONIt was only after leaving academe that a historian learned how to use, interpret, and preserve historical artifacts. REJECT!A former editor in scholarly publishing helps decode rejection letters. VERBATIM: A historian from the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland, says political assassinations rarely yield the desired results. HOT TYPE: The Association for Symbolic Logic, reversing a recent trend, moves from a commercial publisher to a university press. NOTA BENE: In The Murder of Regilla, a classicist reconstructs how an abused wife from ancient Rome's elite met a violent end in Athens. $30.03 BILLION: Federal spending on academic research did not keep pace with inflation in 2005-6, for the first time in nearly 25 years, says the National Science Foundation. MONEY BACK? The acting director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says he wants to restore funds to programs that his predecessor cut. BUTT IN: The University of California's regents have decided that the system will continue to accept research money from the tobacco industry. DEAL AT THE 19TH HOLE: The University of British Columbia has aced the acquisition of the world's largest collection of books about golf. Government & Politics$500 A HEADIn an arrangement that raises questions about conflict of interest, the University of California at Irvine collects a bounty for sending students to an online for-profit institution. BARELY SCRAPING BYThe near poor outnumber the poor, include a fifth of the nation's children, and are largely absent from the national conversation on inequality, write Katherine S. Newman, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University, and Victor Tan Chen, a doctoral student in the sociology and social-policy program at Harvard University. INCOME IMBALANCE: Many public colleges won sizable increases in state money this year but still raised tuition substantially. 'WEST POINT' FOR CLASS WARS: John Edwards proposes a national university for teachers. THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL: The under secretary of education tells accreditors that the Bush administration is disappointed by accusations that it is trying to control colleges. SALLIE MAE SPURNED: The planned $25-billion takeover of Sallie Mae has been called off because a new law cuts federal subsidies to student-loan providers. LAWSUITS BY STUDENTS, ALUMNAE, DONORS: The Supreme Court of Virginia said it would hear appeals in two cases involving Randolph College, which recently began enrolling men. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news from the states. THE APPEARANCE OF HELPFULNESS: Congress considers a change in a federal privacy law to encourage colleges to share information about deeply troubled students. $30.03 BILLION: Federal spending on academic research did not keep pace with inflation in 2005-6, for the first time in nearly 25 years, says the National Science Foundation. MONEY BACK? The acting director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says he wants to restore funds to programs that his predecessor cut. CASH CROP: North Dakota State University has put its support behind farmers in their effort to win the legal right to grow hemp. IN THE HOUSE: A temporary law that relieves members of the armed forces from student-loan obligations may become permanent. 'COLLEGE NAVIGATOR': The Education Department has redesigned its public database of college information. Money & ManagementPUTTING THE FUTURE ON PAPERStrategic plans, which migrated to higher education from corporations, have quickly become de rigueur at colleges. The most successful plans share some important elements. Honesty, for one. HAVE MONEY, NEED PLANPomona College has invested considerable time and effort in devising a strategy for spending wisely. $500 A HEADIn an arrangement that raises questions about conflict of interest, the University of California at Irvine collects a bounty for sending students to an online for-profit institution. NOW HEAR THISColleges struggle to find emergency-notification systems, whether high-tech or low, that quickly reach everyone on a campus. FLEXING FUND-RAISING MUSCLEGifts to sports programs now account for more than one-quarter of all contributions to some colleges, cutting into the proportion given for academic purposes. BUZZ WORDSCollege police chiefs discuss the proper role of the Taser in campus law enforcement. BIOFUEL RESEARCH: The University of Tennessee plans to build an experimental ethanol refinery near its flagship campus. KEEP THE MONEY: A former faculty member at Stanford University who made and lost a fortune has told the medical school that a multimillion-dollar donation still stands. BUTT IN: The University of California's regents have decided that the system will continue to accept research money from the tobacco industry. AN EXPECTED BLOW: Sierra Nevada College has been put on probation by its accreditor. PEER REVIEW: The chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is stepping down. ... The head of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is leaving. ... The chairman of the anthropology department at Washington University in St. Louis will become dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. ... A Princeton University professor has been named poetry editor of The New Yorker. Information TechnologyNOW HEAR THISColleges struggle to find emergency-notification systems, whether high-tech or low, that quickly reach everyone on a campus. MOVING DAYS: At Texas Tech University, the library gets animated. BUY OR BYE-BYE: The Harvard Coop reportedly asked a student to leave after he took notes on the prices of some social-science books. ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORKING: New York State's attorney general has questioned Facebook's efforts to protect member students from sexual predators. 'COLLEGE NAVIGATOR': The Education Department has redesigned its public database of college information. StudentsBUZZ WORDSCollege police chiefs discuss the proper role of the Taser in campus law enforcement. GOING TO EXTREMESColleges and their students are obvious partners in the quest for publicity and immortality that a Guinness world record can bring. THE APPEARANCE OF HELPFULNESS: Congress considers a change in a federal privacy law to encourage colleges to share information about deeply troubled students. IN THE HOUSE: A temporary law that relieves members of the armed forces from student-loan obligations may become permanent. AthleticsFLEXING FUND-RAISING MUSCLEGifts to sports programs now account for more than one-quarter of all contributions to some colleges, cutting into the proportion given for academic purposes. FACE MONEYIn a potential windfall for sports programs, a proposal before the NCAA would broaden the use of athletes' likenesses in commercial ad campaigns. MIND GAMESHow can a critic of big-time college sports get so excited come game day? asks Murray Sperber, a professor emeritus of English and American studies at Indiana University at Bloomington. BAD CALLSFor all their differences, Jim Thorpe and the Duke lacrosse team have something in common. Both are victims of stereotyping, writes Michael Nelson, a professor of political science at Rhodes College. WHEY COOL: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison use a byproduct of cheese production to produce a new sports drink for Badger athletes. InternationalKIN ARE INIn the corridors of some Italian universities, faculty members can look around and see a lot of famiglia faces, writes Francis X. Rocca, a journalist based in Rome and a correspondent for The Chronicle. WAR OF WORDSLee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, raised bitterly contested issues of free speech at a campus appearance last week by the leader of Iran. It was not the first such controversy during Mr. Bollinger's tenure. DANGEROUS SCHOLARSHIPRepressive regimes know that dialogue, criticism, and analysis are their enemies, which is why studying such regimes will always be risky business. Just ask Haleh Esfandiari, writes Daniel Byman, director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University. DEAL AT THE 19TH HOLE: The University of British Columbia has aced the acquisition of the world's largest collection of books about golf. Notes From AcademeONE GOOD TURNBrown University, which is caring for a 273-foot-long panorama of Garibaldi's life, just has to figure out what to do with it. The Chronicle ReviewANGER MANAGEMENTBiology makes us want to retaliate for aggression even if we can't direct the retaliation at our aggressor, writes David P. Barash, author of a forthcoming book about redirected aggression. MIND GAMESHow can a critic of big-time college sports get so excited come game day? asks Murray Sperber, a professor emeritus of English and American studies at Indiana University at Bloomington. BARELY SCRAPING BYThe near poor outnumber the poor, include a fifth of the nation's children, and are largely absent from the national conversation on inequality, write Katherine S. Newman, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University, and Victor Tan Chen, a doctoral student in the sociology and social-policy program at Harvard University. BAD CALLSFor all their differences, Jim Thorpe and the Duke lacrosse team have something in common. Both are victims of stereotyping, writes Michael Nelson, a professor of political science at Rhodes College. KIN ARE INIn the corridors of some Italian universities, faculty members can look around and see a lot of famiglia faces, writes Francis X. Rocca, a journalist based in Rome and a correspondent for The Chronicle. DANGEROUS SCHOLARSHIPRepressive regimes know that dialogue, criticism, and analysis are their enemies, which is why studying such regimes will always be risky business. Just ask Haleh Esfandiari, writes Daniel Byman, director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University. ON THE FRINGESThe photographer Alen MacWeeney observes the Travellers of Ireland. FRESH PERSPECTIVESThe benefits of studying abroad are increasingly recognized. The benefits of teaching abroad are less appreciated, but no less significant, writes Donald E. Hall, chairman of the English department at West Virginia University. CRITICAL MASS: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersAN OBJECT LESSONIt was only after leaving academe that a historian learned how to use, interpret, and preserve historical artifacts. REJECT!A former editor in scholarly publishing helps decode rejection letters. 5 REASONS POLITICIANS HATE USBetween the worlds of politics and higher education lies a lot of misunderstanding. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe Gazette |