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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five that houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
Court Overturns $2-Million Verdict for Former Coach at U. of Louisiana-Lafayette
The coach, one of the few African-Americans in big-time college football, was fired after three losing seasons. He sued, saying he had been dismissed because of his race.
The notorious vermin have forced Colorado State University at Fort Collins to cancel its annual Great Sofa Roundup, which allows students to donate unwanted couches.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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December 21, 2007
Academic Winners and Losers in the Vast Federal Spending Bill for 2008
Washington — The vast spending bill that Congress passed this week, nearly three months late, created many prominent winners and losers in academe. On the minus side of the ledger, the National Institutes of Health took nearly a $1-billion hit to its 2008 budget, while scientific research and education programs were also cut substantially, as Congress slashed millions in domestic spending in order to meet President Bush’s budget request and thereby avoid a veto.
Mr. Bush is expected to sign the bill, which covers nearly every federal agency for the fiscal year that began on October 1.
Among the big losers was the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, in Illinois, which will lay off 10 percent of its staff, force workers to take unpaid days off, and cut back on research, according to today’s Chicago Tribune.
Among the winners were supporters of open access in scientific publishing, the view that the results of taxpayer-financed research should be freely available to the public, not locked up in costly journals. Under the legislation, recipients of NIH grants will have to provide copies of their research papers to an NIH database once they are accepted for publication in a journal. The database would then post the papers within 12 months.
The two-year-old repository has so far received faltering use because posting papers was requested, not required. The Association of American Publishers, which lobbied against the provision, told The Washington Post that “the issue isn’t finished yet.” That’s certainly true enough; the provision will expire at the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
Other big winners were the many recipients of academic earmarks in the huge bill. Some recipients of academic and other earmarks — grants directed by members of Congress to favored constituents — can be examined on a list posted on the Web site of Sen. Jim W. DeMint, a Republican of South Carolina. According to a tally by Citizens Against Government Waste, the overall number of earmarks increased 11 percent over the last such federal appropriations bill. —Andrew Mytelka
Posted on Friday December 21, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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As usual, throw money at the losing cause that is IRAQ and at the same time throw away our country’s future that is todays research and education.
— mlm Dec 21, 08:10 PM #
I don’t mind earmarks too much, as long as we not financing a abhorent, greed mongur war!
— Chuck Kramer Dec 22, 10:20 AM #