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From the issue dated August 3, 2007 |
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Teaching: A Special ReportLEARNED INERTIAProponents of new ways to teach science to undergraduates face resistance, especially at research universities. Short SubjectsBACK-COVER BACK-SCRATCHINGMutual admiration among authors is the name of the game in book publishing. HIGH-FLYING DEAN: A management dean at Vanderbilt University for most of the year, Jonathan L. Lehman vacations as a trapeze artist at Club Med. PRIME NUMBERS: The more educated people are, the more likely they are to have sex at some point in their lives, and the more likely they will have to wait to have it. The FacultyTHE LONG GOODBYEAfter years of controversy, the University of Colorado has fired Ward Churchill, asserting that the decision is unrelated to his having famously insulted the victims of the September 11 attacks. LEARNED INERTIAProponents of new ways to teach science to undergraduates face resistance, especially at research universities. BEYOND POWERPOINTThe University of Washington's Richard J. Anderson has created software for tablet PC's designed to make boring lectures more interactive. AN UNEXPECTING MINORITYSurrounded by faculty moms, a new assistant professor wonders if she would have more friends if she got pregnant. THE NEVER-ENDING PROJECTWill a young scholar be stigmatized by association with a badly run research program? PEER REVIEW: Chapman University lures four economists cross-country from George Mason University. ... The new president of the University of the Arts is one of the youngest college chiefs in the country, and one of the few openly gay ones. ... A prominent medical professor at a Harvard University hospital is New Orleans-bound, to become dean of the Tulane University School of Medicine. SYLLABUS: Students at Hofstra University study European civilization by spending 10 weeks traveling around the continent by minivan. Research & BooksARCHIVAL AMBITIONThe director of the University of Texas' Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center talks about risks and rewards in literary collecting. BACK-COVER BACK-SCRATCHINGMutual admiration among authors is the name of the game in book publishing. BEEN THERE, SHUN THATAmerican historians have, for the most part, abandoned the study of culture, writes Richard Pells, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. OUTFIT YOUR INSIGHTReal scholars don't play dress up. Or do they? asks Amy Leal, who teaches English at Syracuse University. THE INTELLECTUAL SHOWMANWhether or not they like his work, scholars have plenty to discuss in the career of Stanley Kubrick, writes Thomas Doherty, a professor of American studies at Brandeis University. 1 + 1 = 2. OR DOES IT?Ambiguity plays a surprisingly important role in mathematics, writes William Byers, a professor of mathematics at Concordia University, in Montreal. GREEN LIGHT, NOT RED TAPELow-risk research involving fully competent adults should be exempt from regulation by institutional review boards, writes Adil E. Shamoo, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. VERBATIM: A new book by an American-studies scholar at Smith College looks at the positive value of America's fascination with disasters. NOTA BENE: An art historian from University College London explores the creative potential of repetition. HOT TYPE: Universities should support a broader concept of publishing in the digital age, a long-awaited report says. REDUCED EARMARKS: Spending on the principal federal program for academic research and education in agriculture would rise by 4.4 percent in 2008 under a bill that has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. TOOLS OF THE TRADE: The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has provided what it calls an online tool kit for avoiding conflicts of interest in research finances. Government & PoliticsA FULL-COURT PRESS FOR GENDER EQUITYCalifornia State University at Fresno faces several lawsuits over sex discrimination in sports, and advocates say they will continue to use the courts to force colleges to comply with Title IX. UNNECESSARY PREFERENCE?A fourth complaint has been filed with the Education Department saying that the affirmative-action policies of Texas universities are illegal. TEACHING TO THE ECONOMY: A report to the National Governors Association recommends collaboration among state governments, higher-education systems, and the private sector to ensure that colleges' work is aligned with their states' economic needs. IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news from the states. 'NARROWING OF CURRICULUM': As schools spend more time teaching skills tested under the No Child Left Behind law, time spent on other subjects has dropped, a study has found. REDUCED EARMARKS: Spending on the principal federal program for academic research and education in agriculture would rise by 4.4 percent in 2008 under a bill that has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. CUOMO BAGS ANOTHER LENDER: The College Loan Corporation has reached a settlement with New York's attorney general over its lending practices. VICTORY FOR STUDENT GROUPS: The Senate has passed a measure that would slash government subsidies to student-loan companies and use part of the savings to sharply increase student aid. REAUTHORIZATION BILL: The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved legislation that will set higher-education policy for the next five years, increasing federal student aid while cracking down on conflicts of interest in the loan industry. Money & ManagementTHE PRIVATE-EQUITY JUGGERNAUTWith billions of dollars to invest, funds are buying colleges, as well as the companies that provide services to them. DUST TO DUSTAs Temple University converts a landmark Baptist church into a concert hall, its interior fittings, including carvings and stencils, will be lost. UNNECESSARY BARRIERSBias against transfer credits from career colleges runs counter to American values of hard work and fair play, writes Harris N. Miller, president of the Career College Association. A MATTER OF JUDGMENTNot so. Counter to those values would be restricting colleges' control over their own academic standards, writes Barmak Nassirian, an associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. TRADING $80 WINE FOR CHEAP COOKIESAn administrator reflects on the transition from a wealthy private university to a public institution. DOES NOT APPLY: Bond-rating agencies are beginning to question whether increases in applications really reflect a college's popularity. INTERIM HIRED: The governing board of American University named its interim leader, Cornelius M. Kerwin, president. TOOLS OF THE TRADE: The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has provided what it calls an online tool kit for avoiding conflicts of interest in research finances. PEER REVIEW: Chapman University lures four economists cross-country from George Mason University. ... The new president of the University of the Arts is one of the youngest college chiefs in the country, and one of the few openly gay ones. ... A prominent medical professor at a Harvard University hospital is New Orleans-bound, to become dean of the Tulane University School of Medicine. Information TechnologyBEYOND POWERPOINTThe University of Washington's Richard J. Anderson has created software for tablet PC's designed to make boring lectures more interactive. ANTIPIRACY PROPOSAL ALTERED: An amendment that would have required colleges to purchase antipiracy technology is no longer part of the Senate's bill to renew the Higher Education Act. 150,000 VISITORS PER HOUR: Virginia Tech used the power of the Web to share information about the shootings there in April. HOT TYPE: Universities should support a broader concept of publishing in the digital age, a long-awaited report says. TOOLS OF THE TRADE: The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has provided what it calls an online tool kit for avoiding conflicts of interest in research finances. AthleticsA FULL-COURT PRESS FOR GENDER EQUITYCalifornia State University at Fresno faces several lawsuits over sex discrimination in sports, and advocates say they will continue to use the courts to force colleges to comply with Title IX. StudentsLEARNED INERTIAProponents of new ways to teach science to undergraduates face resistance, especially at research universities. SCHOOL SPIRITThere's only one sure way to make students lose interest in alcohol -- make it an integral part of the curriculum, write Lawrence Douglas and Alexander George, professors at Amherst College. CLOSE CALL?Police officers at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville have arrested a student who might have been plotting a shooting spree on the campus. GRADE TAMPERING: Two former officials of Touro College, in New York, have been charged with computer tampering and records falsification in the selling of higher grades and fake academic credentials. BUILT-IN BENEFIT: Researchers at Virginia Tech say that black men who attended historically black colleges had higher lifetime earnings than those who went to other institutions. InternationalTAKING A HARDER LOOK: China's Ministry of Education has announced that it will begin to scrutinize foreign partners of Chinese universities more closely. NO EXPLANATION: More than two years after a Bolivian historian was hired to teach at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and four months after the university sued the federal government to let him into the United States, he has received a visa. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AT STAKE: Improving African universities with the help of their American counterparts is crucial but lacks sufficient U.S. support, a higher-education official has told a Congressional panel. CONTINENTAL LURE: The budget of Erasmus Mundus, a program of the European Union that provides scholarships for master's-degree students from abroad, will more than double in the next few years. HEADING EAST: The CEO of Laureate Education is moving to China to lead his company's push into Asia. Notes From AcademeDUST TO DUSTAs Temple University converts a landmark Baptist church into a concert hall, its interior fittings, including carvings and stencils, will be lost. The Chronicle ReviewBEEN THERE, SHUN THATAmerican historians have, for the most part, abandoned the study of culture, writes Richard Pells, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. SCHOOL SPIRITThere's only one sure way to make students lose interest in alcohol -- make it an integral part of the curriculum, write Lawrence Douglas and Alexander George, professors at Amherst College. OUTFIT YOUR INSIGHTReal scholars don't play dress up. Or do they? asks Amy Leal, who teaches English at Syracuse University. UNNECESSARY BARRIERSBias against transfer credits from career colleges runs counter to American values of hard work and fair play, writes Harris N. Miller, president of the Career College Association. A MATTER OF JUDGMENTNot so. Counter to those values would be restricting colleges' control over their own academic standards, writes Barmak Nassirian, an associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. THE INTELLECTUAL SHOWMANWhether or not they like his work, scholars have plenty to discuss in the career of Stanley Kubrick, writes Thomas Doherty, a professor of American studies at Brandeis University. 1 + 1 = 2. OR DOES IT?Ambiguity plays a surprisingly important role in mathematics, writes William Byers, a professor of mathematics at Concordia University, in Montreal. REMAINS OF THE DAYThe lens of photographer Andrea Baldeck picks up what we leave behind. GREEN LIGHT, NOT RED TAPELow-risk research involving fully competent adults should be exempt from regulation by institutional review boards, writes Adil E. Shamoo, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. CRITICAL MASS: Eros in the classroom. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersTRADING $80 WINE FOR CHEAP COOKIESAn administrator reflects on the transition from a wealthy private university to a public institution. AN UNEXPECTING MINORITYSurrounded by faculty moms, a new assistant professor wonders if she would have more friends if she got pregnant. THE NEVER-ENDING PROJECTWill a young scholar be stigmatized by association with a badly run research program? DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe |