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From the issue dated February 8, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsA SCHOLAR FROM THE SLUMSA onetime petty criminal from a Kenyan ghetto found inspiration in a University of Manchester flyer he saw on a pile of garbage. AGAINST THE GRAIN: The University of Akron's housing crunch means putting students up in a luxury hotel that was once a grain elevator. HOW RULES GET MADE: Even though Northwestern University doesn't expressly forbid hard-core midget wrestling at fraternity houses, the campus chapter of Delta Upsilon is still in trouble. MODEL EMPLOYEES: Women who pose nude at state-run art institutions in Italy go on strike to protest poor pay and cold studios. Notes From AcademeA VOICE FOR THE WEAKAt Ball State University, a doctor from Baghdad studies journalism on a Fulbright scholarship, hoping to heal more than one Iraqi at a time. The FacultyWHY WE STILL NEED ACADEMIC FREEDOMRobert M. O'Neil writes that ominous new threats looming over the academy endanger not just higher education, but the very pursuit of knowledge. PEER REVIEW: Paul Risser, acting director of the National Museum of Natural History, resigns to return to University of Oklahoma. ... Barnard names Debora Spar its new president. ... University of Kentucky gets its first vice president for institutional diversity from Vassar College. Research & BooksARCHIVES, FEAR, AND MEMORYTwo Iraqi scholars, one in Baghdad and one in Massachusetts, are battling over millions of pages of records from Saddam Hussein's regime. HOT TYPE: A special issue of The Journal of American History strives to put Katrina's destruction of New Orleans in historical context. Information TechnologyWHEN COMPUTERS PAINT: Art and technology collide in a new exhibit at Northwestern University's Block Museum. LINKED IN WITH: Andrew B. Williams, of Spelman College, who discusses using robot soccer to attract minority women to engineering. Money & ManagementWHISPERING THE R-WORDHow might an economic downturn affect colleges and universities, and what can they do about it? MORE HARM THAN GOOD? Congress's plan to create a watch list of colleges with above-average tuition increases may put low-cost institutions on the spot, a Chronicle analysis shows. 'A POWER PYRAMID': The former chancellor of Alabama's two-year colleges has agreed to plead guilty to 15 counts of conspiracy, bribery, and other charges. SPENDING QUESTIONS: After years of criticism about her money management, the president of Chicago State University is stepping down. GREENING UP: After some delay, the University of Minnesota has signed on to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Government & PoliticsSLASH PORK OR ELSEPresident Bush threatens to veto earmarks if lawmakers don't cut them by half. MORE HARM THAN GOOD? Congress's plan to create a watch list of colleges with above-average tuition increases may put low-cost institutions on the spot, a Chronicle analysis shows. NEWS ANALYSIS: Is Sallie Mae a new force for accountability? A FIGHT TO SURVIVE: For-profit colleges are lobbying furiously against a proposal in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that could drive hundreds of them out of business. PENNSYLVANIA ON THE SPOT: The Education Department is seeking $15-million from a state lender it says used a loophole to claim federal subsidies. 'TEACH GRANT' ADVANCES: Colleges and the U.S. Department of Education moved toward agreement last month on several key points of a new grant program for aspiring teachers. StudentsNOT ON THE SAME PAGEIn an effort to lower textbook prices, the House of Representatives' education committee has proposed new requirements for colleges and publishers, which they say would increase costs. A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLORA new study of the impact of bans on race-conscious admissions policies shows that the policies hurt Asian-Americans more than white people. OF TESTS AND TERRITORYA service that sends GRE scores to public-health schools on behalf of applicants is being denied access to the scores by the Educational Testing Service. 'HALF A LOAF': A new rule on what kinds of study count as work for welfare recipients includes some good news and some bad news for colleges. AthleticsGIVING BACK TO ATHLETESThe National Collegiate Athletic Association will pay more than $228-million to settle an antitrust lawsuit filed by four former players. InternationalTO INDIA BY ANY MEANSU.S. colleges eager to enter the restricted Indian market form partnerships with unregulated private institutions there. INDIA'S CLOSED DOORSIssues of money and control have stymied a proposal to allow foreign universities even limited access to the nation's overburdened higher-education market. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: A Turkish professor has been convicted of insulting the memory of the republic's founder. OR YOUR MONEY BACK: The University of Washington has reimbursed students for a failed study-abroad trip to Ghana last year. IN BRIEF: A roundup of international higher-education news. CommentaryWHY WE STILL NEED ACADEMIC FREEDOMRobert M. O'Neil writes that ominous new threats looming over the academy endanger not just higher education, but the very pursuit of knowledge. AN ADMINISTRATOR'S TRIBUTEMilton Greenberg takes a fond look back at his career and the younger colleagues he supported. Their continued success, he writes, is his greatest reward. BACK TO SCHOOLA large number of boomers, Harris Wofford predicts, will return to college for training and enrichment. Legislators, administrators, and faculty members should prepare for, and welcome, this constituency. The Chronicle ReviewHARD TRUTHSWhen Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart was published 50 years ago, a young writer's career came together. We visit Achebe at Bard College, where he reflects on his intentions and his influence. CANDIDATES' GOD TALKScriptural references are seemingly mandatory this election year, but how seriously should we take them? HISPANIC ANTI-SEMITISMLatin America has a history of prejudice that's little known and increasingly worrisome, writes Ilan Stavans. IDEAS 08Scholars consider consumption taxes, the tax-spend balance, credits and deductions, and tax plans' political impact. PARTYING AND PRAYINGBiographies of Lester Young and John Coltrane reflect jazz's modern dialectic, writes Jack Sullivan. NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENTAcademe is the Land of No — but at least it's consistent, writes Jessica Burstein. PORTFOLIOAn Indiana streetscape. CRITICAL MASS: Films about unplanned pregnancy: pro-life, pro-choice, or just pro-box office? CONSIDER THIS: Peter Brooks looks at humanism's role in the language of torture. NOTA BENE: A new book series devoted to cult films: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Donnie Darko, This Is Spinal Tap, and other coming attractions. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersINSIDE MANA perennial applicant gains a new perspective on the search process when he sits on his first hiring committee. THE ART OF GOOD CONFERENCINGLearning how to get the most out of an academic meeting has become an essential skill. THE WRITING DATEIt's easy to lose yourself in the research and never get around to actually putting words down on paper. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe |