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From the issue dated February 22, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsLIVING ON THE EDGEAcademics pursue extreme sports for the surge of adrenaline and a rare break from thinking. NICKNAME NEEDED: A well-known architect will erect Britain's tallest free-standing sculpture at the University of Nottingham, but what will people call it? GEARING UP FOR FALL: New students at Ripon College can get free bikes, providing they agree not to bring cars to campus during their first year. BETWEEN THE COVERS: Five pairs of students in Canada camped out in their campus libraries last month to raise money for literacy in Nepal. Notes From AcademeREX PARKER, SOLVERAn English professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton uses a secret identity to blog about crossword puzzles. The FacultyREX PARKER, SOLVERAn English professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton uses a secret identity to blog about crossword puzzles. BIAS SCIENCETwo married researchers, one Democrat and one Republican, are examining why fewer conservatives than liberals become professors. A FAILURE TO COLLABORATEA professor assigns a group project in a graduate seminar and confronts a wave of resentment. PEER REVIEW: The motorcycle-riding president of Webster University, in Missouri, steps down. ... Bryn Mawr College names a new leader. ... A professor at Upstate Medical University takes over as president of United University Professions, the nation's largest higher-education union. Research & BooksBIAS SCIENCETwo married researchers, one Democrat and one Republican, are examining why fewer conservatives than liberals become professors. SMALL COLLEGE, BIG RESEARCHTips for scientists at teaching-oriented institutions on how to pursue outside grants. NO FACEBOOK FOR SCIENTISTS: Researchers need more specialized tools for online collaboration, and a recent meeting highlighted some of them. HOT TYPE: As the American Anthropological Association settles into its new publishing deal with Wiley-Blackwell, some of its members hope that the association will eventually embrace open-access publishing. NOTA BENE: Books on animals and religion, and mules and the South Information TechnologyUP THE ESTABLISHMENT CATALOGAn upstart Web venture promises free and unfettered book access to academic libraries, something the current leading database won't do. SHOWDOWN IN TEXASThe trial starts between Blackboard and Desire2Learn, two course-management companies, over the rights to software used at thousands of colleges. TECH THERAPY: This week: sex and technology. Faculty and staff members' electronic activities may not be as private as they think. NO FACEBOOK FOR SCIENTISTS: Researchers need more specialized tools for online collaboration, and a recent meeting highlighted some of them. Money & ManagementPRESIDENT RESIGNSAmid suggestions of political pressure to oust him over free-speech issues, the leader of the College of William and Mary has quit and says he turned down a generous offer to remain silent about it. HIS AND HERS CAMPUSESFor a husband and wife who are presidents of two colleges hundreds of miles apart, the strains and the rewards balance out. SHOWDOWN IN TEXASThe trial starts between Blackboard and Desire2Learn, two course-management companies, over the rights to software used at thousands of colleges. STRIKING A BALANCEColleges can avoid acrimonious lawsuits from donors who feel their gift restrictions have been ignored or donations misappropriated. Communication and respect, Lawrence White advises, are the key elements in reconciling donors' wishes with institutions' needs. NEWS ANALYSIS: A community-college president delivers a strong critique as keynote speaker for the American Council on Education. Government & PoliticsJUDGED REDUNDANT: Buried in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act passed by the House is a provision that would eliminate an influential advisory committee on student aid. StudentsCAMPUS SHOOTINGS UNDERSCORE SECURITY CONCERNSAs the recent shootings at Louisiana Technical College made clear, emergency preparedness is hard to ensure on any campus, but for nonresidential ones, it is even more elusive. DANGER ON CAMPUS: A panel at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education featured the president of Virginia Tech and grappled with how to prepare for unknown threats. AthleticsTHE SOFTER SIDE OF BOBBY KNIGHTThe former men's basketball coach at Texas Tech and Indiana University had some well publicized dust-ups. But he should be remembered for the powerful way he transformed young athletes for the better, writes Christine Plonsky. BIAS CASE: A former women's basketball coach at California State University at Fresno who sued the university for sex discrimination will accept a reduced award of $6.6-million. InternationalRIFE WITH CORRUPTIONMany university officials in Russia find their institutions can be profitable fiefdoms. FOREIGN EXCHANGE: The parent of an alumna of Wheaton College has sued to change its policy of charging home-college tuition when a student attends a cheaper overseas program. DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT: A State Department employee has been recalled from Bolivia after a Fulbright scholar said he had asked him to spy for the United States. CONTROVERSIAL CLOSURE: A Russian court ordered a university in St. Petersburg that offered courses in election monitoring to shut down, ostensibly for fire-code violations. DEBATE OVER COVERINGS: In Turkey, lawmakers moved to allow the wearing of head scarves on college campuses, and thousands protested. CommentaryFEARING OUR STUDENTS WON'T HELP THEMCollege officials have better ways of decreasing the likelihood of campus violence than trying to predict students' future behavior, writes Gary Pavela. THE CONTAGION OF CAMPUS BLOODSHEDExtreme measures taken to avoid campus violence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy and can divert attention from scholastics, writes James Alan Fox. STRIKING A BALANCEColleges can avoid acrimonious lawsuits from donors who feel their gift restrictions have been ignored or donations misappropriated. Communication and respect, Lawrence White advises, are the key elements in reconciling donors' wishes with institutions' needs. THE SOFTER SIDE OF BOBBY KNIGHTThe former men's basketball coach at Texas Tech and Indiana University had some well publicized dust-ups. But he should be remembered for the powerful way he transformed young athletes for the better, writes Christine Plonsky. LOVE VS. MOREHOUSE COLLEGEA student is beaten by a classmate after a perceived homosexual advance; a lawsuit is filed against the college for fostering intolerance toward gay students. Steve Sanders reviews the legal implications. UNIVERSITIES AND LIFE-SAVING MEDICINESWhen universities license their drug patents, write Rajesh Panjabi and others, they should use their leverage with pharmaceutical companies to insist on low-cost access to those medicines. By demanding humanitarian licensing terms, higher education can lead the way to improved global health. The Chronicle ReviewLINCOLN'S SKINA tactile take on an iconic president gives us a better sense of his relationship to democracy, labor, and slavery, writes Mark M. Smith. ROMNEY'S RELIGIOUS DILEMMAHe wanted to share his faith without sharing its particulars. That strategy didn't work in his run for the presidency, writes Seth Perry. CONSIDER THISJohn J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt have been criticized for their narrowly empirical approach. But political science over all is vulnerable to that same critique, writes Daniel W. Drezner. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CONFERENCEWriters in academe come together in New York, but is it still a city of literary dreams? asks Michael Dirda. FIGHTING WORDSA Q&A with Randall Collins, who argues that human beings are pretty good at aggression but fairly inept at violence, writes Christopher Shea. THIS SIDE OF PARADISEScholars' grad-school locales acquire an Edenic mystique in memory, writes Murray Sperber. MY SPACE: Sam Gosling and his team of "scientific snoops" decipher the personalities of dorm rooms and office spaces. CRITICAL MASS: Has the Obama candidacy become a cult? NOTA BENE: Books on animals and religion, and mules and the South Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersSMALL COLLEGE, BIG RESEARCHTips for scientists at teaching-oriented institutions on how to pursue outside grants. A FAILURE TO COLLABORATEA professor assigns a group project in a graduate seminar and confronts a wave of resentment. THE IMPORTANCE OF ADVISORY BOARDSDon't underestimate the benefits of a well-managed external panel, especially in times of economic stress. |