Headlines for March 8, 2006

South Korea's stem-cell-research scandal was at the center of a debate among members of Congress on Tuesday over whether American institutions were capable of policing themselves to prevent similar scandals in this country. The debate was not related to specific legislation but illustrated the political heat that stem-cell research continues to generate.

To view Larry Summers's failed presidency at Harvard solely in terms of personalities is to miss the larger story, say two scholars of leadership. Like other leading universities, Harvard, they write, has undergone a sea change that makes it among the most difficult organizations in the world to lead, no matter how charming or conciliatory the president.

A new federal regulation on how to comply with nondiscrimination laws when using the Internet and résumé databases in recruiting and hiring presents challenges for academe, a speaker told college human-resources officials at a meeting on Tuesday.

At least eight institutions have endorsed the principles behind an antisweatshop proposal that calls for colleges to require that apparel bearing their logos be made only at factories that pay employees a living wage and that have legitimate unions. But the colleges have stopped short of backing the proposal to the letter out of concern that doing so might violate antitrust law.

News that Nebraska Wesleyan University's president will receive a $723,585 retirement package has led to an uproar on the 1,500-student campus. Angered by the reported amount of the package and the secrecy that has surrounded the process, about 50 students held a sit-in outside a meeting of the institution's Board of Governors last week.

About 150,000 students at Ontario's 24 colleges of applied arts and technology are out of the classroom after their professors walked off their jobs early Tuesday, and some students are wondering whether the strike will prevent them from graduating on time.