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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
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.
Water-Main Break Damages Library at University in St. Louis
Summer classes at Harris-Stowe State University resumed today, but the library remains closed.
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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February 11, 2008
Nigerian E-Mail Scams Hit Scholarly Publishing
An e-mail message that circulated last week sought manuscript submissions for peer-reviewed journals and seemed innocuous enough — at least until you started noticing the oddities.
First, the message claimed to come from Blackwell Publishing, but Blackwell merged with John Wiley & Sons a year ago. Next you saw that it asked for articles “in all fields of human Endeavor,” and that the editors would decide which journal it should appear in. The message came from a gmail.com address, and requested manuscripts be sent to someone at live.com.
And the person whose name appeared at the bottom of the message was one “Richard Canton (Prof.).” Google his name, and you discover a highly skilled martial artist.
The message appears similar to one that was sent a few months ago asking for manuscripts for Elsevier journals. People who responded to the message were asked to send money for a handling fee.
Elsevier conducted an investigation and traced the e-mail to an Internet cafe in Nigeria.
Wiley and Elsevier have both alerted authors to the e-mail spam through their Web sites. The International Association of Science, Technical, and Medical Publishers also placed a warning on its Web site in response to the Elsevier scam. —Lila Guterman
Posted on Monday February 11, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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Another day of shame to these bad eggs. I think this article should be forwarded to “USA/Africa Dialogue” to enable those on its listserv to forward it to members worldwide. This is indeed sad and troubling. But thanks for your information.
— Prof. Hakeem I. Tijani Feb 11, 01:17 PM #
As the editor of a literary journal, I have found yet another twist, also coming from Nigeria (although I assume it could have come from anywhere?). An author sent me a manuscript to be published that, as I later found out, had already been published, word for word, in an African journal. It wasn’t until a specialist referee of the MS sent me a copy of the article from this African journal that I knew anything about it — and that was after five months or more of my reworking repeatedly the style and logic of this MS with the author. In effect, I was an unwitting (and free) editorial assistant for someone else’s journal.
— John Feb 11, 01:22 PM #
Almost everyday I receive scam mail from abroad, especially, Nigeria. Is there anything that could be done? Many people fall for these scams. They lose their life savings.
— kvc Feb 11, 06:06 PM #
I don’t know….stealing academic papers? Reminds me of those pervs who steal panties off the clothesline.
— marci Feb 11, 08:08 PM #
It may be of interest to know that some of the crooks are not Nigerians, but foreigners, while on a visit to Nigeria decide to take advantage of the negative attributes.
— Thompson Essien Feb 12, 06:54 PM #