 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
From the issue dated January 25, 2008 |
|
Short SubjectsTHE SEARCH FOR GREATER MEANING: When is a cow's marking not just a cow's marking? When it is born with a Virginia Tech logo on its forehead. THE MOTHER OF ALL COURSES: A museum curator at the Johns Hopkins University wasn't sure whether she would be pregnant when she taught a course on pregnancy in early Maryland last fall, but there was a definite possibility. NOT EASY BEING GREEN: The American Society for Environmental History is wondering whether it should support its mission by meeting once every two years instead of annually. NEED A HOT INVESTMENT TIP? Take a look at how the American Economic Association allocates its own portfolio. Notes From AcademeQUIET, BUT NO PEACEA historian explores the soon-to-be-opened cottage at the Soldiers' Home where the Lincoln family spent its Washington summers. Research & BooksRESEARCH BATTLEA new study of violent deaths during the Iraq war ignites a dispute among scientists about counting methods. QUIET, BUT NO PEACEA historian explores the soon-to-be-opened cottage at the Soldiers' Home where the Lincoln family spent its Washington summers. HOT TYPE: A roundup of events and discussions from the American Library Association meeting in Philadelphia 'FAIR USE' PACT: A leading association of publishers has forged a deal with Hofstra, Marquette, and Syracuse Universities to limit electronic content for students. NOT EASY BEING GREEN: The American Society for Environmental History is wondering whether it should support its mission by meeting once every two years instead of annually. NEED A HOT INVESTMENT TIP? Take a look at how the American Economic Association allocates its own portfolio. The FacultySYLLABUS: At Hamilton College, students combine outdoor adventure with journal assignments to learn how to bring excitement and good narration to their academic writing. LEARNING TO SHARE: A new study refutes a 2007 paper that said students were growing more self-centered. THE MOTHER OF ALL COURSES: A museum curator at the Johns Hopkins University' wasn't sure whether she would be pregnant when she taught a course on pregnancy in early Maryland last fall, but there was a definite possibility. Money & ManagementDEPENDENT ON PLASTICAlumni associations begin to question their reliance on income from credit cards marketed to their members. RELATIVELY ROSY: The financial picture for American higher education in 2008 is stable despite signs that the economy is weakening, say the two largest agencies that rate college bonds. ON THE LOSING END: The enmity directed toward student-loan companies during a recent Education Department rule-making session highlights their political vulnerability. THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM: Blackboard Inc. has acquired a company that offers emergency-notification services to colleges. SETTLEMENT REACHED: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will pay $385,000 to end a sexual-harassment lawsuit against its women's soccer coach. Government & PoliticsCUOMO'S STUDY-ABROAD INVESTIGATION PLODS ALONGLess zeal, less anxiety mark inquiry by the attorney general who tackled student loans. WRAPPED IN RED TAPEColleges say pending higher-education legislation would double their already burdensome reporting requirements. NEW FACE AT ACEMolly Broad, the former president of the University of North Carolina system who made sweeping changes during her tenure, will lead the American Council on Education. POLITICS@EDU: Many states have entered the new year facing a budget gap, which can only mean cuts in higher-education spending. Information TechnologyPROFESSORS AS YOUTUBE STARS: A series of Web sites take scholars and their ideas out from behind ivy-covered walls and into mainstream media. LINKED IN WITH: Peter J. Brantley, head of an academic library federation, who thinks the search-engine giant will hurt libraries and the public. 'FAIR USE' PACT: A leading association of publishers has forged a deal with Hofstra, Marquette, and Syracuse Universities to limit electronic content for students. StudentsBURIED UNDER MOUNTAINS OF MAILYou may think you know how busy admissions offices are during January, but you have no idea. OUT OF MY SPACENew software that lets coaches monitor athletes' profiles on social-networking Web sites has drawn criticism from legal experts, who say it might threaten students' rights. THE NEXT BIG NAMES IN BUSINESSEven without job experience, younger students can be leaders in M.B.A. programs, admissions officials say. LEARNING TO SHARE: A new study refutes a 2007 paper that said students were growing more self-centered. AthleticsSPIN DOCTORSTopics at the annual convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association included how athletes balance academics and sports, how game-day revenues are good for colleges, and how the association's goal is to educate some 380,000 student athletes. OUT OF MY SPACENew software that lets coaches monitor athletes' profiles on social-networking Web sites has drawn criticism from legal experts, who say it might threaten students' rights. InternationalCUOMO'S STUDY-ABROAD INVESTIGATION PLODS ALONGLess zeal, less anxiety mark the inquiry by the attorney general who tackled student loans. FOR STUDENTS' BENEFIT: The international-educators association has offered up a set of principles, but not prescriptions, for better management of study abroad. BUILDING BIG: King Abdullah U. of Science and Technology, in Saudi Arabia, has chosen the head of the National U. of Singapore as its first president. IN BRIEF: A roundup of international news. CommentaryMINDPOWER 101Americans can successfully compete with Asians in science and math, according to Jamshed Bharucha, as long as we understand how the brain learns. VOTES THAT COUNTAlexandra Suich tells why monitoring elections in Kenya and other countries can teach students valuable lessons. SHRINKING COVERAGENewspaper cutbacks mean much less reporting of all the higher-education news that's fit to print, says Richard Whitmire. The Chronicle ReviewA PAINFUL HISTORYDemocracies like to think they oppose torture, but they only keep it out of sight, writes Darius Rejali. CREATIVE CLASS, DISMISSEDJean-Jacques Rousseau articulately rejected the nobility of art. For art students, that's a serious downer, writes Laurie Fendrich. PURE POISONIs organic living undermining the environment? asks Andrew Szasz. SEXY THINGSRecent novels riff on the lives of artists with an edgy sensuality. Marianna Torgovnick puts the books in perspective. PORTFOLIOThe photographer Christopher Rauschenberg seeks out Eugene Atget's Paris in today's city. BELIEF IN RELIEFEvery so often in class, religious-studies professors might want to reveal their personal views on faith. Context is key, writes John D. Barbour. CRITICAL MASS: Pooh-poohing the primary pollsters. CONSIDER THIS: John Ashbery's poems are wind harps responding to our fickle, but forgivably human, changeability, writes Jay Parini. NOTA BENE: Middle-Eastern converts to American Protestantism; the theological origin of courts' "reasonable doubt." Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersTHE YEAR OF DRESSING FORMALLYAfter gaining tenure and losing 40 pounds, a professor gives himself a fashion makeover. WHO'S THE DWEEB, MY BOSS OR ME?A graduate student's rewards should be scholarly ones, products of the lab and library, not the saloon. ACADEMIC TRAVEL CAUSES GLOBAL WARMINGHow many times have you asked yourself, "Did I really need to fly to New York to hear that?" |