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From the issue dated March 14, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsBALANCED MEALSSome colleges have jettisoned trays from campus dining halls to cut costs, consumption, and carbon emissions. Not everyone's happy about it. RIVERS AND RANKINGS: A theory that describes how natural structures like river channels are formed also describes why college rankings are fairly static, says the Duke University scholar who came up with the idea. IRISH, AND THEN SOME: At the Missouri University of Science and Technology, St. Patrick's Day is occasion for a weeklong celebration and an annual coronation that dates to a century ago. IN BOX: A reader turns the sometimes-snooty world of literary contests on its head. The FacultyCODE OF CONDUCTThe course syllabus has evolved into a legal-type contract on student behavior. TEACHING AND EARNING: An annual salary survey shows that law, business, and engineering are the most lucrative disciplines in the professoriate. LONG TALK: The MLA's report of reforms in foreign-language education is still provoking debate almost a year after its release. PEER REVIEW: Harvard picks a dean for its Harvard College. ... The dean of the U. of Maryland at College Park's journalism school will be the next president of St. Norbert College. ... Vanderbilt U. picks one of its own to be president. Research & BooksTHE DOCTOR IS ONLINEMedical students at the University of Alberta and elsewhere are organizing their studies via new Web-based systems. THE MYSTERIOUS EASTA book by the economic sociologist Giovanni Arrighi manages to get both China and Adam Smith wrong, writes Gregory Clark. BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET?Cultural-studies scholars may be neglecting the politically progressive movies of the independent filmmaker John Sayles because his films are too straightforward, writes David R. Shumway. THE BAD-WORD DILEMMAStruggling with academic etiquette and her own conscience, a scholar parses "baad bitches" and "sassy supermamas." LINKED IN WITH: The director of Google's book-search project says the company will form partnerships with more college libraries and scan more books, regardless of copyright objections. RIVERS AND RANKINGS: A theory that describes how natural structures like river channels are formed also describes why college rankings are fairly static, says the Duke University scholar who came up with the idea. CONSIDER THIS: No one in America is talking about a new volume of letters by Ted Hughes, Britain's former poet laureate. Is it us or him? writes Elaine Showalter. NOTA BENE: A new book and a new film on Katyn, the Stalinist mass murder of Polish prisoners of war in 1940. Information TechnologyTHE DOCTOR IS ONLINEMedical students at the University of Alberta and elsewhere are organizing their studies via new Web-based systems. iPHONE, ANYONE? Technology giveaways by colleges are generally greeted with either "hurray!" or "huh?" LINKED IN WITH: The director of Google's book-search project says the company will form partnerships with more college libraries and scan more books, regardless of copyright objections. Money & ManagementRISING BOND RATES FEED COLLEGES' DEBTSMany institutions are moving to fixed-rate securities as they face the credit crunch. STUDYING FOR THE TOP JOB: The governing board of the San Jacinto College District had a top candidate for chancellor, but she lacked a crucial qualification. UNCHARITABLE FOUNDATION: A group known for supporting scholarships for business students has told some colleges that it can no longer pay for the scholarships it committed to, forcing those institutions to dig into their own funds to support the students. THE END IS IN SIGHT: A ruling by the Antioch University Board of Trustees means that Antioch College will close after all. MORE FLEXIBILITY: A growing number of states are passing laws to make it easier for colleges to spend their endowment assets during difficult economic times. CUOMO'S LATEST CRUSADE: The New York State attorney general's office sent subpoenas to higher-education institutions asking for details on their college-branded credit cards. Government & PoliticsRATHER THAN MAKE MONEY OFF THEMStudent-loan companies should bring more low-income students into higher education, Earlham College's president told representatives of the nation's foremost lenders. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: The Education Department is ending a "hardship" provision that would have reduced interest payments for low-income college graduates because it often benefited wealthy ones. PRISONS, NOT CAMPUSES: Five states spend more on corrections than they do on higher education, according to a new study. HANDS OFF: The Education Department won't support regulatory language that pre-empts state laws governing student-loan policy. StudentsWHY THE FRENZY?Some college-admissions officials say getting into the college of your choice isn't really so hard after all. CANDID CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACISMAt Oregon State University, a predominantly white college, it seemed as if relations among different groups were harmonious — until the campus newspaper published a drawing of a person in blackface. AthleticsTHE JOYS OF THE WALK-ONBenchwarmers rarely get to glory in the game, but there are other perks. InternationalCATCH-22 FOR IRAQI STUDENTSEducation officials in the country say American visa policies deter students who want to come to universities in the United States. CONTROVERSIAL COLLABORATIONStanford University and the Universities of California at Berkeley and of Texas at Austin have signed agreements with a new Saudi university to help it design a curriculum and hire faculty members. STUDY-ABROAD 'COMPASS': A new code of ethics seeks to offer guidance to colleges, overseas-study providers, and foreign host institutions. BUSINESS ED FOR POOR WOMEN: Sixteen business schools and universities worldwide will team up with the Goldman Sachs Group to provide courses for 10,000 underserved women, mostly in developing countries and emerging markets. $350-MILLION: Canada's new budget includes the country's first federal need-based grant program. CommentaryTHE RULES OF ENDOWMENTSExcerpts from the American Enterprise Institute's forum, "The Role of University Endowments," held last month. CREATING A COMMUNITYDavid Boren on the importance of fostering a sense of community on college campuses. DEGREES OF SEPARATIONTo legally protect the meaning of the college degree, it is time to start formally classifying American degrees according to their provider, purpose, content, or all of the above, writes Alan Contreras. The Chronicle ReviewBE EVERYWHERE NOWToday's generation of students is a singular one in its spectacular hunger for life and more life, writes Mark Edmundson. DRUGS ON THE MARKETWe now spend over $100-million a year to prove the obvious: Alternative and complementary therapies don't work, writes R. Barker Bausell. BORN TO BE WILDRock songs are defying presidential campaigns' efforts to co-opt them for political purposes, writes Kevin J.H. Dettmar. THE MYSTERIOUS EASTA book by the economic sociologist Giovanni Arrighi manages to get both China and Adam Smith wrong, writes Gregory Clark. BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET?Cultural-studies scholars may be neglecting the politically progressive movies of the independent filmmaker John Sayles because his films are too straightforward, writes David R. Shumway. THE BAD-WORD DILEMMAStruggling with academic etiquette and her own conscience, a scholar parses "baad bitches" and "sassy supermamas." CRITICAL MASS: Remembrances of William F. Buckley Jr. CONSIDER THIS: No one in America is talking about a new volume of letters by Ted Hughes, Britain's former poet laureate. Is it us or him? writes Elaine Showalter. NOTA BENE: A new book and a new film on Katyn, the Stalinist mass murder of Polish prisoners of war in 1940. MY SPACE: The paleontologist Neil Shubin tracks the ultimate fish story. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersCONFERENCE RULES, PART 1Everything you need to know about introducing speakers and running a panel discussion. GET ANOTHER LIFEWhile the demands of tenure should not be minimized, obsessiveness about your career is a mistake, psychologically and practically. 'IN LOCO PARENTIS' REVISITEDAs the dorms lay in ruins, most students just wanted to see their parents. |