Current Issue

U.S. Antarctic Science Is at a Crossroads as the Wider World Presses In

American researchers are brought to the vast continent as part of a geopolitical strategy that dates to the 1940s.

• Antarctic Researchers Find Memorable Experiences and Daunting Logistics
• Penguins Put Long-Term Perspective on Shifts in Climate
• At the Cold End of the Earth, Scientists Seek the Hot Beginning of the Universe
• Antarctica's Dry Valleys Give Scientists a Window Into Life on Mars
• Climate-Change Studies in Antarctica Are Crucial, if Not Straightforward

Climate-Change Studies in Antarctica Are Crucial, if Not Straightforward

Studies of ice cores reveal secrets about temperature and carbon dioxide in the past. And some of the findings are not what scientists expect.

Antarctica's Dry Valleys Give Scientists a Window Into Life on Mars

The area is a stark laboratory where researchers study how water, dirt, and microbes interact.

At the Cold End of the Earth, Scientists Seek the Hot Beginning of the Universe

A big telescope and other devices at the South Pole may yield important discoveries about the universe's past and future.

Penguins Put Long-Term Perspective (and Cute Faces) on Shifts in Climate

Antarctica has seen recent declines in populations of the captivating waddlers, but the fluctuations don't always signal climate change.

Antarctic Researchers Find Memorable Experiences and Daunting Logistics

"Bundle up!" doesn't begin to address the necessary considerations.

As Deaths Mount, Officials Ask: Are Students Hard-Wired for Hazing?

A drum major's death last fall brought another round of hand-wringing and committee reports, but some researchers say these deadly rituals are nearly impossible to root out.

Historians Face New Pressure to Track Where Their Ph.D.'s Work

Accurate data are important for persuading potential donors that a department merits support, but faculty often resist questions about whether what they do is worthwhile.

• Table: Where Recent History Ph.D.'s Are Working

Where Recent History Ph.D.'s Are Working

The NCAA Wades Into a War of Words

Stung by outspoken criticism from a New York Times columnist, the association is dishing back—and it's gotten personal.

Charles Murray, Author of 'The Bell Curve,' Steps Back Into the Ring

The author's newest work calls on the wealthy to come out of their gated communities and show the debauched working class how to live. Sociologists respond.

A Tech-Happy Professor Reboots After Hearing His Teaching Advice Isn't Working

A Kansas State University scholar finds himself rethinking the fundamentals and questioning whether technology is the best way to engage students.

The Secret of a Successful Branch Campus? Marketing, Marketing, Marketing

The marketing director at Wollongong U. in Dubai makes no bones about it: "Selling is not a dirty word."

Firing of Workers Who Failed to Provide Documents Divides Pomona College

Some on the campus believe the 17 employees were dismissed for union activity, a charge the president denies.

• Slide Show: Firing of Workers Divides Pomona College

Harvard Seeks to Jolt University Teaching

A conference kicks off a $40-million project dedicated to improving student learning, but old habits die hard, participants say.

Colleges and Developers Find Common Ground to Build Student Housing

Businesses exploit a lucrative market, and institutions discover the advantages of using private companies to get the job done.

Fault Lines Form as Finances Strain U. of California System

Looking for fiscal autonomy, leaders of several institutions, including San Francisco, with its vaunted medical school, have proposed independence.

5 Minutes With a Student Chosen by the White House to Symbolize the Struggle to Pay for College

A University of Colorado at Denver student shares what it was like to be the "face" of student loans at President Obama's State of the Union speech.

New Mexico's Next Chief Aims for Fresh Start

Several rocky years preceded Robert Frank's appointment. He acknowledges that "skeptical" faculty want him to prove he was the right choice.

Tweed: 'Speed-Faithing' at Dominican ... Professorial Trivia ... MacArthur Competitors ... Lampooning Again

On Valentine’s Day, students at Dominican University will have five minutes to share their religious beliefs with someone else before moving on to the next person.

Reclaiming a Sense of the Sacred

A writer contemplates religion, science, art, and the miraculous.

A Dark Day's Dark Humor: What's So Funny About 9/11?

A new book sizes up our capacity to face horror with a grim chuckle.

What's Been Lost in History

By focusing narrowly on educating more professors, the field has relinquished its influence on civic life.

In Praise of Reference-Book Authors

A tribute to lexicographers and others who classify life's minutiae.

Death by Rose Petals

Meet the naughtiest Roman emperor you've never heard of.

The 'Undue Weight' of Truth on Wikipedia

The author has written two books about the Haymarket riot and trial. In some circles that affords a presumption of expertise. Not, however, on Wikipedia.

What Conservatives Want

What Is Wrong With This Sentence?

President Daddy

A father fights the urge to be more presidential than paternal.

Just Call Me Emma

A president's daughter says her last name "dropped out of the equation." She wanted students and faculty to get to know her without making assumptions.

'Academically Adrift': The News Gets Worse and Worse

The study revealed truths about student learning that those in academe didn't want the world to know. But now that it does, there's no going back.

Teaching College Courses in High Schools

"More high schools provide their students with the opportunity to take college courses than offer AP courses."

Making a Public Ph.D.

How, specifically, do you put together a program that will prepare graduate students for nonacademic careers?