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From the issue dated February 2, 2007 |
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Short SubjectsMASCOT WATCHA bobcat and two kinds of hawks are among the new team mascots. Elsewhere, a college decides its angels are too ethereal, and a gunslinger is packing heat again. PRESERVING DOCUMENTS, MAINELY: Librarians at Bowdoin College are storing delicate documents in shelves made of lobster-trap mesh. 'HAVE SOME MADEIRA, M'DEAR': Three business students at Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, are developing a straw that will detect the presence of so-called date-rape drugs. WHISKERY BUSINESS: Members of a mustache club promote facial hair at Carleton College. The FacultySIX ON CLOUD NINEA half-dozen colleges keep junior faculty members especially happy, according to a survey by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education. FROM LABS TO LEADERSHIPA new national council is needed to coordinate efforts to improve science and mathematics teaching in schools, and colleges should play a key role, says a draft report requested by Congress. A NEW MAZE FOR GRANT APPLICANTSThe National Institutes of Health is about to require applicants for federal funds to use Grants.gov, a process that has stymied many users. MATERNAL INSTINCTSFor a college to become an alma mater in the hearts of its students, it must show, true to the Latin meaning, the wisdom and comfort of a good foster mother, writes Ellen Handler Spitz, professor of visual arts at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. THEORY AND PRACTICEAnthropology and other social sciences can be used to build bridges or, in the hands of the military, to destroy them, writes Roberto J. Gonzalez, an associate professor of anthropology at San Jose State University. TOO FEW CHOICESIf she's happy with her decision to accept a lectureship in biology, why does she still feel like a failure? STORM DAMAGE: The layoffs, program cuts, and other steps taken by five universities in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina have drawn sharp criticism in a draft report from the American Association of University Professors. PEER REVIEW: Hank Brown, who has led the University of Colorado out of scandals and financial troubles, has announced that he will step down as president next year. ... As Roger W. Bowen's contract as general secretary of the American Association of University Professors approaches expiration, he starts job hunting. ... Northeastern University plans to put $40-million into an effort to hire dozens of professors who would focus on interdisciplinary research. SYLLABUS: Students at Drake University tip sacred cows in a class on modern political satire. Research & BooksREADING FOR PROFITAccusations that scholars at the University of Oregon, taking advantage of a provision in the No Child Left Behind Act, steered funds to themselves and their colleagues may fuel a larger battle over the law itself. PRESIDENT VS. PORKIn his State of the Union address, President Bush called on Congress to cut earmarks in half over the next two years. HOT TYPE: English Literature in Transition, now called ELT 1880-1920, celebrates its 50th anniversary. ... Indiana University Press Journals marks its 20th birthday with at least three new journals. 'GROWING PAINS': Research-ethics boards are multiplying in Africa, but the need for revenue and jobs from medical studies can make it difficult to reject proposed experiments. NOTA BENE: A legal scholar from William Mitchell College of Law argues that aggressive sexual-predator laws have encouraged a constitutionally questionable "outsider jurisprudence." PRESERVING DOCUMENTS, MAINELY: Librarians at Bowdoin College are storing delicate documents in shelves made of lobster-trap mesh. Government & PoliticsTOWN AND GOWN, TOOTH AND NAILLocal opposition to expansion plans for the University of California's Berkeley and Santa Cruz campuses may lead to legislation that would force the university to cooperate with its neighbors. FROM LABS TO LEADERSHIPA new national council is needed to coordinate efforts to improve science and mathematics teaching in schools, and colleges should play a key role, says a draft report requested by Congress. NELNET OFF THE HOOKThe U.S. Education Department will not require a major for-profit student-loan provider to return $278-million in subsidies, but future payments will be limited. PRESIDENT VS. PORKIn his State of the Union address, President Bush called on Congress to cut earmarks in half over the next two years. READING FOR PROFITAccusations that scholars at the University of Oregon, taking advantage of a provision in the No Child Left Behind Act, steered funds to themselves and their colleagues may fuel a larger battle over the law itself. A NEW MAZE FOR GRANT APPLICANTSThe National Institutes of Health is about to require applicants for federal funds to use Grants.gov, a process that has stymied many users. REAGAN'S REAL LEGACYHe was one of the nation's great liberators, but too many politicians today wrongly claim to follow in his footsteps, writes John Patrick Diggins, a professor of history at the City University of New York Graduate Center. WHEN THE RIGHT WRITESHats off to conservatives' literary skills -- but it's easy to be entertaining when your ideas are simplistic and illogical, writes Russell Jacoby, professor in residence in the history department at the University of California at Los Angeles. JUDICIAL TEMPERAMENTA PBS series and its companion book examine the interplay between justices' personalities and their principles throughout the history of the Supreme Court, writes Mark C. Rahdert, a professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. STARTING WITH 1,000 STUDENTS: New York City will spend $20-million over the next three years at CUNY to raise graduation rates at its six community colleges and help find jobs for graduates. DIVERSITY-PROGRAM CHALLENGE: Supporters of affirmative action worry that its foes have found a new avenue of attack, involving an accounting of expenditures. TEXAN AT THE TOP: Rep. Rubén E. Hinojosa, a champion of higher-education programs for Hispanic Americans, will head the House of Representatives' subcommittee on higher-education policy. STATE NEWS IN BRIEF: A roundup of higher-education news. Money & ManagementHEY, BIG SPENDERAs campaigns set higher goals, college fund raisers try to devise gift proposals that will speak to donors' desires to make lasting impacts. SIX ON CLOUD NINEA half-dozen colleges keep junior faculty members especially happy, according to a survey by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education. TOWN AND GOWN, TOOTH AND NAILLocal opposition to expansion plans for the University of California's Berkeley and Santa Cruz campuses may lead to legislation that would force the university to cooperate with its neighbors. MONEY GAMESCollege-sports experts criticized recruiting techniques and the high pay of football and men's basketball coaches at a meeting of the Knight Commission. GIFTS AND GOALSRecent books explore top philanthropists' motives, methods, and results, writes Stanley N. Katz, director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. ARE WE SUCCESSFUL?When you spend your days defining success as the collection of dollars, it's inevitable that you apply that barometer to your own career. CHIPPED AWAY: The Intel Corporation has dropped 100 colleges from its $25-million tuition-reimbursement plan for employees. WHY I MOVED: Patrick T. Harker talks about leaving the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to become president of the University of Delaware. GOVERN YOURSELF: College governing boards should raise standards for fiscal integrity and their own performance in order to prevent government intrusion, says a report. LEADER STEPS DOWN: The president of Florida Gulf Coast University has resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair with a faculty member. EASING UP ON LICENSEES: The foundation that manages patents held by the University of Wisconsin at Madison has backed down from many of its demands involving stem-cell discoveries. PALE GREEN: Most colleges have yet to align their endowment policies with their sustainability efforts, a study has found. FREEZE OFF: The U.S. Education Department has lifted a ruling that prevented Career Education Corporation from building new campuses. PRIVATE SETTLEMENT: Duke University has returned a powerful research laser to the physicist who created it, quietly putting an end to a nine-year legal battle. INVENTIONS: A professor at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse has come up with a device for people to measure their body fat by just lying down. PEER REVIEW: Hank Brown, who has led the University of Colorado out of scandals and financial troubles, has announced that he will step down as president next year. ... As Roger W. Bowen's contract as general secretary of the American Association of University Professors approaches expiration, he starts job hunting. ... Northeastern University plans to put $40-million into an effort to hire dozens of professors who would focus on interdisciplinary research. Information TechnologyA NEW MAZE FOR GRANT APPLICANTSThe National Institutes of Health is about to require applicants for federal funds to use Grants.gov, a process that has stymied many users. BLOG OVERLOADAn associate professor and devoted reader of blogs finds that requiring students to create one produces the wrong kind of buzz. 'ORPHAN WORKS' RULING: A federal appeals court has ruled against archivists who sought to ease copyright restrictions on old books and films in order to promote archiving them on the Internet. $400,000 AT ISSUE: A former employee of Bowling Green State University has been charged with using the institution's money to buy computers and then selling them on eBay. LISTEN UP: Ruckus, a music- and movie-download service that has dealt solely with colleges, will open its song library at no charge to students. 'BUZZING FEELING': The library director at Southwestern College, in New Mexico, has quit after complaining that electromagnetism from the campus wireless network may have made her ill. THE WIRED CAMPUS: A roundup of news in higher-education technology. AthleticsMONEY GAMESCollege-sports experts criticized recruiting techniques and the high pay of football and men's basketball coaches at a meeting of the Knight Commission. MASCOT WATCHA bobcat and two kinds of hawks are among the new team mascots. Elsewhere, a college decides its angels are too ethereal, and a gunslinger is packing heat again. OFF THE MAT: The University of California has agreed to pay $725,000 to settle an unfair-dismissal lawsuit brought by a former wrestling coach on the Davis campus. StudentsRUBIK'S ARMYA venerable cube with an academic following finds renewed appreciation among a new generation of puzzle solvers. ORANGE AND BLACK AND HOLD THE GREEN: Princeton University will not raise tuition for the next academic year, a decision that will put pressure on other selective institutions to hold down their prices as well. MERIT VS. NEED: Merit scholarships are disproportionately awarded to students from high-income families, and the percentage of such aid, compared with need-based aid, has increased significantly, a study has found. EYE ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: The Association of American Colleges and Universities has urged colleges to adopt a broader curriculum, with a greater focus on skills like critical thinking and problem solving. TARHEEL IN MOUTH: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has mistakenly sent 2,703 applicants e-mail messages congratulating them on their acceptance, even though the applications are still pending. RAISE HIGH THE CLASSROOM: Harvard University should make changes to improve its quality of teaching, enhance student learning, and reward successful instructors, says a report from a panel of tenured professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. InternationalTHE OLD AMIGOS' NETWORKGetting hired to teach at universities and research institutes in Spain depends less on what you know than on whom you know. BELIEVE LA DIFFÉRENCEAmerican students abroad resist the notion of general cultural distinctions, even as they display them, writes John Engle, a co-founder of the American University Center of Provence. NOT AFFORDABLE: Tuition at Chinese universities has increased much faster than most people's income over the past 20 years, says a report. SEEKING FOREIGN ENROLLMENTS: A U.S. national strategy to recruit students from abroad was called for in a forum convened by the Government Accountability Office. 'GROWING PAINS': Research-ethics boards are multiplying in Africa, but the need for revenue and jobs from medical studies can make it difficult to reject proposed experiments. Notes From AcademeRUBIK'S ARMYA venerable cube with an academic following finds renewed appreciation among a new generation of puzzle solvers. The Chronicle ReviewGIFTS AND GOALSRecent books explore top philanthropists' motives, methods, and results, writes Stanley N. Katz, director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. MATERNAL INSTINCTSFor a college to become an alma mater in the hearts of its students, it must show, true to the Latin meaning, the wisdom and comfort of a good foster mother, writes Ellen Handler Spitz, professor of visual arts at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. REAGAN'S REAL LEGACYHe was one of the nation's great liberators, but too many politicians today wrongly claim to follow in his footsteps, writes John Patrick Diggins, a professor of history at the City University of New York Graduate Center. WHEN THE RIGHT WRITESHats off to conservatives' literary skills -- but it's easy to be entertaining when your ideas are simplistic and illogical, writes Russell Jacoby, professor in residence in the history department at the University of California at Los Angeles. JUDICIAL TEMPERAMENTA PBS series and its companion book examine the interplay between justices' personalities and their principles throughout the history of the Supreme Court, writes Mark C. Rahdert, a professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. BELIEVE LA DIFFÉRENCEAmerican students abroad resist the notion of general cultural distinctions, even as they display them, writes John Engle, a co-founder of the American University Center of Provence. HANG TREESIn what is "part pilgrimage and part memorial," a photographer seeks out hundreds of lynching sites in California. THEORY AND PRACTICEAnthropology and other social sciences can be used to build bridges or, in the hands of the military, to destroy them, writes Roberto J. Gonzalez, an associate professor of anthropology at San Jose State University. CRITICAL MASS: Three books examine the dismal future we have created for ourselves and our planet. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersTOO FEW CHOICESIf she's happy with her decision to accept a lectureship in biology, why does she still feel like a failure? BLOG OVERLOADAn associate professor and devoted reader of blogs finds that requiring students to create one produces the wrong kind of buzz. ARE WE SUCCESSFUL?When you spend your days defining success as the collection of dollars, it's inevitable that you apply that barometer to your own career. 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