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From the issue dated November 16, 2007 |
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Short SubjectsLIVIN' ON TULSA'S DIMEIn a lawsuit, three ex-professors accuse the president of Oral Roberts University of earthly excesses. BAGHDAD HOLD 'EM: Archaeologists at Colorado State University at Fort Collins have teamed up with the military to create a deck of cards that teach cultural awareness to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. PRESIDENTIAL PARLOR GAME: The likelihood that the president of the College of William and Mary will still have his post next year is the subject of a "prediction market" on the Web. DID YOU SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT? A student at San Jose State University is a world-champion competitive eater. MELLOW TO A DEGREE: Donovan, the 1960s psychedelic folk-rocker, plans to open a Scottish university devoted to transcendental meditation. The FacultyCRUNCHING SCHOLARS BY THE NUMBERSThe third annual Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index has raised eyebrows with its rankings of departments' accomplishments. MY FIRST SIT-INWasn't I, just a few decades ago, on the other side of this desk? LIFE AT BSUAmid administrative cheerleading about institutional excellence, a professor just wishes the faucets would work. PLEASED PROFESSORS: Full-time faculty members at four-year colleges are happier with their jobs than are most American workers, a survey has found. SAME-RACE ROLE MODELS LACKING: Students in underrepresented minority groups earn degrees in science and engineering at much greater rates than minority professors hold faculty jobs in those disciplines at top universities, according to a study. PEER REVIEW: The woman chosen as dean of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley has decided to stay at Ithaca College instead. ... President Bush has nominated Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard University law professor, as ambassador to the Vatican. ... New presidents have been chosen by the University of Houston and Southeastern Oklahoma State University. SYLLABUS: Students at the University of New Hampshire see how Americans have reacted to mental illness through the nation's history. Research & Books2 WRONGSStephen Steinberg, a sociologist at the City University of New York, castigates American social sciences' study of race relations on two counts. AGAINST CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: "The United States has plenty of scientists and engineers," according to researchers, who told Congress that what's needed is different training. SCHOLARLY ALTERNATIVE: Two professors closely linked to Bush-administration policy have started a new association for their colleagues in Middle East studies. JOINT ACCUSATION: Two Harvard-affiliated orthopedic surgeons are among those that a public-interest group says have taken kickbacks from makers of artificial knees and hips. TARGETED FLOODING: A house owned by a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles has been vandalized by animal-rights militants. HOT TYPE: A split in the longtime partnership of the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Historical Association has left the latter seeking a new home. NOTA BENE: A French chemist peels back more than a few juicy tales in Citrus: A History. Government & PoliticsBORROWED AND BLUEExperts say there's no research to show that loan-forgiveness programs, like a new one from Congress for public-service employees, actually work to steer people to certain professions and keep them there. 'THE PROFESSOR PRESIDENT'Ever since he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has taken an intellectual approach to problem-solving. AFTER BUSH: Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings appears to be warming up to the idea of someday seeking elected office herself. NOT JUST WHISTLING: The local outcry over a proposed name change could derail a plan to merge Dixie State College into the University of Utah. BLUEGRASS TRANSITION: A Democrat who promised more money for higher education has routed the incumbent governor of Kentucky. PAYBACK TIME: The University of California must pay more than $33-million to students who accused it of breach of contract when it raised tuition. PREFERENCE BAN'S AFTERMATH: The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor says it has avoided a steep decline in the number of minority students in this fall's entering class. IMPROVING PRINCIPALS: States, colleges, and school districts should do more together to train school leaders, says the Southern Regional Education Board. PAYROLL ADVICE: California State University must tighten its employee-compensation policies, a state audit recommends. NO MORE THAN 35 PERCENT: Congressional leaders have approved a spending-bill provision that would cap the overhead costs in basic-research grants and contracts financed by the Pentagon. EASED BURDEN: The Department of Homeland Security has relaxed rules on how colleges must handle chemicals with potential terrorist uses. IN BRIEF: A roundup of news from the states. Money & ManagementAUTONOMY OR DEATHTrustees and alumni of Antioch College have reached a deal to keep it from closing in June, but the agreement depends on support from donors, many of whom are unhappy with the terms. THE RISING PRICE OF PRESIDENTSElite colleges and universities find that landing a chief executive costs more than ever in pay and benefits, with no ceiling in sight. ENERGY SAVINGS: The William J. Clinton Foundation has negotiated partnerships to provide $5-billion to reduce colleges' carbon emissions. THE ARCHITECT SKETCH: Campus designers are amazed that a dispute between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the renowned architect Frank Gehry over construction problems has led to a lawsuit. PEER REVIEW: The woman chosen as dean of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley has decided to stay at Ithaca College instead. ... President Bush has nominated Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard University law professor, as ambassador to the Vatican. ... New presidents have been chosen by the University of Houston and Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Information TechnologyWIKIS WORKING IN THE CLASSROOMA new project uses collaborative software to create low-cost textbooks for college students in the developing world. SECOND LIFE, REVISITEDWhich should take precedence on a virtual-reality campus: corporate terms of service or public-disclosure laws? TECH THERAPY: What campus CIOs can do about the increasing stress of the job. StudentsDIVERSITY AWARENESS HITS A SNAGUnder criticism, the University of Delaware has discontinued a dormitory-based program of training in tolerance, raising questions about just how to talk about the subject outside of classrooms. SLIPPING OFF THE RADARMany community-college students receive little or no attention from advisers in the crucial first four weeks of class, a survey has found. MINING FOR BENEFITSLaw students at Washington and Lee University use a legal clinic to champion the rights of coal miners with black-lung disease. LIGHTER LOADS IN NEW ENGLAND: Three elite liberal-arts colleges in the region have announced plans to reduce the debt burdens on their students. WARMING TO A LOBBYING CAMPAIGN: Thousands of college students descended on Congress last week to press for more action on the issue of climate change. ENROLLING WITH CREDIT: Two-thirds of college-level courses in high schools qualify for Advanced Placement status, an audit by the College Board has determined. AthleticsDEFENSIVE TACTICSProminent college sports programs bring in media trainers to school their athletes in on-air poise. DID YOU SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT? A student at San Jose State University is a world-champion competitive eater. InternationalVYING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETAfter slumping since 2001, the number of foreign students coming to the United States is nearing a record high. 'SENSITIVE SUBJECTS': Foreign graduate students in science and technology programs in Britain must now get a special security clearance. LIST FRENZY GOES OVERSEAS: American institutions dominate the latest edition of a British ranking of the world's top 200 international universities. Notes From AcademeMINING FOR BENEFITSLaw students at Washington and Lee University use a legal clinic to champion the rights of coal miners with black-lung disease. Special Report: Executive CompensationTHE RISING PRICE OF PRESIDENTSElite colleges and universities find that landing a chief executive costs more than ever in pay and benefits, with no ceiling in sight. BRINGING UP THE REARThe duties of many community-college presidents are as demanding as those of their counterparts at four-year colleges, but their pay lags behind. COMMITTED ON PAPERFor several reasons, many presidents lack written employment contracts. QUIET MONEYBonuses, mostly for performance and retention, are common among college presidents' pay packages. But the standards for when such bonuses are handed out are not always clear. GETTING AND SPENDINGFive presidents talk about where their money goes. TOP DOLLAR AND OTHERWISEStephen J. Trachtenberg, retired president of George Washington University, explains why presidents are paid so much more than professors. A PAY CUT TO DIE FOR: E. Gordon Gee jumps from private Vanderbilt to public Ohio State. MORE DETAIL, PLEASE: A tax expert explains what's in store for the IRS Form 990, and for the people who have to fill it out. THE BETTER HALF: Some presidential spouses are already busy with their own careers. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersSECOND LIFE, REVISITEDWhich should take precedence on a virtual-reality campus: corporate terms of service or public-disclosure laws? MY FIRST SIT-INWasn't I, just a few decades ago, on the other side of this desk? LIFE AT BSUAmid administrative cheerleading about institutional excellence, a professor just wishes the faucets would work. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe |