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From the issue dated June 20, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsEXECUTIVE EXCESSInaugurations of college presidents sometimes bear more in common with a king's coronation than an academic ceremony. JUST ASKINGThe best insults are concise, precise, and cut like a knife. ASHES TO ASHES: Wood from trees felled at Dominican University is being used to produce prosthetic limbs for the corpses of bone donors. DEPOSIT, NO RETURN: If you donated sperm at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatchewan, officials there would like to use it for research. They'll even waive the storage fee. POETIC JUSTICE: A group of young Vermonters who vandalized the former summer home of Robert Frost were ordered to attend a lecture on the poet given by a Middlebury College professor. WHAT THEY'RE READING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A list of the best-selling books. The FacultyRICHES FOR RESEARCHScholars who just got whopping $10-million grants from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology talk about how they'll use the money. THE PEDAGOGY OF INNOVATIONThanks in large part to the efforts of one foundation, the study of entrepreneurship is spreading from business schools into other academic fields. LEARNING FROM YOUTUBEProfessors who record their lectures for the Web find that students prefer short segments to class-length talks. What does that mean for the classroom? PEER REVIEW: An activist and former government official takes over as head of the University of Ottawa. ... A historian from the University of Southern California will become dean of Rutgers University's revamped School of Arts and Sciences. ... A professor at Simmons College will lead an advocacy group for health-care-management education. Research & BooksFLIGHT OF FANCYIn the hummingbird, Christopher Benfey finds a symbol and a metaphor for the poetic impulse of America's Gilded Age, writes Julia M. Klein. JAMES BOND AS ARCHETYPEYes, he's suave, confident, and charismatic. But what really makes every man want to be 007 is that he's dangerous, writes Michael Dirda. READING AND REVIEWINGTo those of you with other people's manuscripts sitting on your desks, get to them soon and give them back. HOT TYPE: Criminal-law scholars compete for inclusion in a book from Oxford University Press. NOTA BENE: Books explore the aborted alliance between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, belief versus religion, and life as a series of accidents. Information TechnologyLEARNING FROM YOUTUBEProfessors who record their lectures for the Web find that students prefer short segments to class-length talks. What does that mean for the classroom? LINKED IN WITH: A medical professor who uses song parodies and beat poetry in podcasts to spice up her lectures. Money & ManagementA PRESIDENT CONCEDESAfter repeated calls for his resignation, West Virginia University's Michael S. Garrison announces his departure, saying that to stay at this point would be "very selfish." BEHIND THE WHEELTwo-year colleges in remote areas develop new programs to help their students cope with the high price of fuel. EXECUTIVE EXCESSInaugurations of college presidents sometimes bear more in common with a king's coronation than an academic ceremony. EMPLOYMENT AND LIABILITYAn undergraduate assigned to work in a laboratory is injured in an accident. Ann H. Franke asks: Does workers' compensation apply? Or can he sue the college? ACADEMIC LABORSupervisors of students working on the campus have a responsibility to make those positions as educational as possible, Jonathan S. Lewis writes. CONFERENCE NOTEBOOK: High expectations for leaders and the importance of sustainability took center stage at The Chronicle's Executive Leadership Forum. BUILDINGS & GROUNDS: Colleges should construct buildings that reflect the current times, one architect says. TRUSTEES' DECISION UPHELD: The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled in favor of Randolph College in lawsuits brought by students and alumnae upset that the institution had gone coed. PAYING FOR EXPERIENCE: The National Institutes of Health hopes to draw more reviewers for its grants by offering a lot more money. Government & Politics'BAKKE' AT 30Three decades after the U.S. Supreme Court's Bakke decision, many higher-education officials wonder where the landmark ruling has gotten them — and what, exactly, lies ahead. MORE LENDERS BACK AWAYState student-loan agencies, which often keep low profiles but serve a large proportion of the nation's students, are limiting their services because of financial problems. GOING OUT GROWLING: The U.S. Education Department's advisory committee on accreditation challenges two major accrediting agencies over their policies for ensuring quality. ARMY GREEN: If Congress passes a bill to expand veterans' education benefits, the biggest beneficiary — after the veterans, of course — could be the University of Phoenix. Students'BAKKE' AT 30Three decades after the U.S. Supreme Court's Bakke decision, many higher-education officials wonder where the landmark ruling has gotten them — and what, exactly, lies ahead. TO THE NTH DEGREEBenjamin B. Bolger is working on six advanced degrees to go with the 11 he already has. BEHIND THE WHEELTwo-year colleges in remote areas develop new programs to help their students cope with the high price of fuel. NEWS ANALYSIS: Assessment tests measure only students' ability to do routine work, said a speaker at The Chronicle's third annual Executive Leadership Forum. That won't help graduates when such work is automated and outsourced. InternationalEVERYONE ABROADGoucher College has made overseas study mandatory, and professors and students are struggling with costs, logistics, and the programs' value. CommentaryA STUDY IN SURVIVALToday's students face the first truly worldwide environmental challenge, John Petersen writes. Colleges need to prepare them. EMPLOYMENT AND LIABILITYAn undergraduate assigned to work in a laboratory is injured in an accident. Ann H. Franke asks: Does workers' compensation apply? Or can he sue the college? ACADEMIC LABORSupervisors of students working on the campus have a responsibility to make those positions as educational as possible, Jonathan S. Lewis writes. The Chronicle ReviewWHAT LEFTISTS LEFT OUTOld left and new left had a lot of vision, but never quite envisioned how to communicate with each other, writes Maurice Isserman. RADICAL RICOCHETSThe social revolts of 1960s America transformed the conservative world as much as they did the liberal one, writes Alan Wolfe. A HELL FOR ADORNOIn the late 60s, student radicals attacked the German philosopher for being authoritarian. He called them "storm troopers in jeans," writes Carlin Romano. VECTORSLooking for a career in sex and drugs? Try epidemiology, writes Elizabeth Pisani. FLIGHT OF FANCYIn the hummingbird, Christopher Benfey finds a symbol and a metaphor for the poetic impulse of America's Gilded Age, writes Julia M. Klein. JAMES BOND AS ARCHETYPEYes, he's suave, confident, and charismatic. But what really makes every man want to be 007 is that he's dangerous, writes Michael Dirda. UNPLANNED LESSONSShattered by a family tragedy, a professor must decide whether to teach as usual, writes Bob Kochersberger. MY SPACE: Matthew Desmond studies what sparks a firefighter's professional passion. NOTA BENE: Books explore the aborted alliance between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, belief versus religion, and life as a series of accidents. CRITICAL MASS: The physicist Freeman Dyson's approach to global warming makes critics hot under the collar. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersSOLVING THE CREDENTIALS PUZZLEAre you qualified to teach at a community college? Time to check your graduate-school transcript. LET'S JUST BE FRIENDSAmong other things, a Facebook profile means you get to see how your students react when you hand out their grades. READING AND REVIEWINGTo those of you with other people's manuscripts sitting on your desks, get to them soon and give them back. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe |