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From the issue dated September 5, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsVAN GOGH, OR NO?Computer algorithms that analyze texture and brush strokes can accurately tell if a Van Gogh painting is real or counterfeit. MANMADE MIRACLE: Liberty University is building America's first Snowflex artificial ski slope. ROAD SCHOLARS: Carnegie Mellon University takes social-science research on the road with its new DataTruck. WHAT THEY'RE READING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A list of the best-selling books. Notes From AcademeBRAWNY WELCOMEAt Rice University, football players and other upperclassmen greet arriving freshmen at their dormitories in an organized effort to get them moved in and on their own. The FacultyGRADE EXPECTATIONSThe notion of grade inflation has drawn both crusaders and skeptics to the notion of a decline in academic standards at American colleges. FISH IN THE SHALLOWSStanley Fish would like professors to impart knowledge without viewpoint. Even if that were possible, it would be undesirable, writes Steven G. Kellman. THE REALM OF REASONAcademic freedom is a professional requirement, not a divine right. It should be advanced, and limited, accordingly, writes Stanley Fish. ACADEMIC FREEDOM VS. CHURCH DOCTRINE: The University of San Diego, a Roman Catholic institution, has revoked the offer of a visiting professorship to a feminist Catholic theologian. HOT TYPE: The publisher of the venerable Arden Shakespeare collection has shocked Shakespeare scholars by terminating the contract of the senior researcher who had been editing a new edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the series. INITIAL MYSTERY: A group of uncertain identity has claimed the mantle of the defunct American Association for Higher Education. PEER REVIEW: The University of California at Irvine continues expanding with a new distinguished professor of education. ... The controversial chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago has announced his retirement. ... The provost in the University of California system will take on the same job at UAE University, in the United Arab Emirates. Research & BooksFILE UNDER FLEETINGArchives are neither as objective nor as lasting as we might like to think, writes Marianna Torgovnick. DR. WIKI, WE PRESUMEOnly M.D.'s and Ph.D.'s can apply to contribute to Medpedia, a new Web site that aims to be a medical version of Wikipedia. WHAT'S LEFT OF THE LEFT?That's what France's reigning public intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy seeks to answer in his latest book, writes Carlin Romano. VAN GOGH, OR NO?Computer algorithms that analyze texture and brush strokes can accurately tell if a Van Gogh painting is real or counterfeit. HOT TYPE: The publisher of the venerable Arden Shakespeare collection has shocked Shakespeare scholars by terminating the contract of the senior researcher who had been editing a new edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the series. BUDGET-RELATED FREEZE: The University of Georgia has suspended a program that allows faculty members to take time off to do research. Many of their scheduled sabbaticals, however, will not be affected by the ban. ROAD SCHOLARS: Carnegie Mellon University takes social-science research on the road with its new DataTruck. Information TechnologyDR. WIKI, WE PRESUMEOnly M.D.'s and Ph.D.'s can apply to contribute to Medpedia, a new Web site that aims to be a medical version of Wikipedia. THE WIRED CAMPUS: Colleges must do more to foster collaboration with state and regional officials in disaster planning. ... A growing number of textbook publishers offer digital editions, but a student group says it has found that many of them do not have the features that students actually want. ... A missing flash drive has put the personal data of 15,000 current and former students at Arapahoe Community College, in Colorado, at risk. Money & ManagementPAYING SO ATHLETES MAKE THE GRADEThe facilities arms race in college sports has a new frontier: lavish academic-services centers, where training programs involve the brain rather than the body. WIDENED 'PATHWAYS'Deals between private companies and colleges to attract and prepare foreign students for enrollment are spreading from other countries to the United States. 21 SKIDDOO: More than 100 college presidents, arguing that the legal drinking age is unrealistic, say they are forced to spend money to enforce the unenforceable. They have started a campaign, the Amethyst Initiative, to rethink the issue. BLUEGRASS AND SUNSHINE: The Supreme Court of Kentucky has ruled that the University of Louisville must disclose the names of 47,000 donors to its foundation. GREENER IN PATCHES: Colleges are putting more focus on environmental sustainability in their operational decisions but are not warming to it as a classroom topic, a survey has found. POLLOCK ON THE BLOCK? The possibility that the University of Iowa might sell a celebrated mural to pay for flood repairs has caused an uproar in the art world. THE 5-PERCENT SOLUTION: Lawmakers will discuss the relationship between endowments and college costs. FORM 990 RULES: The Internal Revenue Service has released final instructions for its overhauled tax form for nonprofit groups. SEEING RED IN THE DESERT: Nevada's governor struck back at the state-university system's chancellor, who had criticized him for proposing education cuts. $11.33, PLEASE: A professor in Maryland has billed Stanford University for a donation to a climate-change group to offset the environmental impact of his flight to California to lecture there. Government & PoliticsFRONT BURNERAt the Democrats' national convention, college-age voters played a prominent role, and delegates adopted a platform that promises more federal financial aid for students, greater support for research, and an end to the politicization of science. DOWN 1.6 PERCENT: The federal government's share of financing for academic research slipped in 2007, extending a trend that has alarmed college officials. ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER ALL: Congress packed the bill reauthorizing the Higher Education Act with new requirements for colleges to document their performance. StudentsANIMAL HOUSE AT 30With the fall of in loco parentis and the rise of alcohol-abuse education, what does the archetypal beer-bash movie have to say to college students and administrators now? BEGUILING FOR DOLLARSColleges look for ways to lure students into learning the basics of financial literacy, knowledge that many of them need quite badly. BRAWNY WELCOMEAt Rice University, football players and other upperclassmen greet arriving freshmen at their dormitories in an organized effort to get them moved in and on their own. BUSINESS BOOT CAMP: Texas A&M University is one of a handful of institutions offering entrepreneurship programs for disabled veterans. AthleticsPAYING SO ATHLETES MAKE THE GRADEThe facilities arms race in college sports has a new frontier: lavish academic-services centers, where training programs involve the brain rather than the body. InternationalWIDENED 'PATHWAYS'Deals between private companies and colleges to attract and prepare foreign students for enrollment are spreading from other countries to the United States. RUSSIA'S NEXT 10 YEARSStephen Kotkin, Nina L. Khrushcheva, Edward Lucas, Ellen Carnaghan, and Marshall I. Goldman assess the stability and prospects of an authoritarian, aggressive, market-oriented power fueled by petrodollars. WELL-USED WELCOME MAT: The number of foreign graduate students admitted to American universities grew in 2008 for the fourth straight year, although the rate of increase declined for the third year in a row. REFUGEE ACADEMICS: American professors and students were among those who fled the Russian invasion of Georgia, which involved the bombing of a university in the city of Gori. FAST TRACK IN CANADA: The country has introduced a system to speed the process by which foreign students and graduates with Canadian work experience become permanent residents. SIMPLER IN IRAQ: The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has begun accepting visa applications from students, in a policy shift that should ease the application process for Iraqis planning to study at American colleges. IN BRIEF: News of higher education from around the world. CommentaryTOP TO BOTTOMWhat made Roger H. Martin, a former college president and emeritus professor of history, return to college as a freshman? STRANGERS NO MOREColleges increasingly view engineering as an important part of a liberal-arts education. Several campus leaders offer their views on efforts to integrate the disciplines. WHO'S PLAYING WHOM?How colleges manipulate their rankings, and other tales from John F. Burness, an administrator with experience at the game. The Chronicle ReviewFISH IN THE SHALLOWSStanley Fish would like professors to impart knowledge without viewpoint. Even if that were possible, it would be undesirable, writes Steven G. Kellman. THE REALM OF REASONAcademic freedom is a professional requirement, not a divine right. It should be advanced, and limited, accordingly, writes Stanley Fish. RUSSIA'S NEXT 10 YEARSStephen Kotkin, Nina L. Khrushcheva, Edward Lucas, Ellen Carnaghan, and Marshall I. Goldman assess the stability and prospects of an authoritarian, aggressive, market-oriented power fueled by petrodollars. DEGREES OF POTENTIALB.A.'s aren't for everyone, argues Charles Murray in his new book. Charles Murray's not for everyone, either. WHAT'S LEFT OF THE LEFT?That's what France's reigning public intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy seeks to answer in his latest book, writes Carlin Romano. FILE UNDER FLEETINGArchives are neither as objective nor as lasting as we might like to think, writes Marianna Torgovnick. FOOD FOR THOUGHTA new series from Reaktion Books serves up the global contexts of hamburgers, pizza, pancakes, and other edibles. Meanwhile, Princeton University Press investigates food fraud, and the University Press of Florida frosts the history of doughnuts with some cultural analysis. THAT SIDE OF PARADISEThose who have experienced Ivy educations can wax cynical about them. But for at least one who hasn't, the mystique remains, writes Thomas Washington. POWERFUL VISIONSPhotographs document the civil-rights movement. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersON STUPIDITY, PART 2Exactly how shall we teach the "digital natives"? YOUR DIRTY DISHESShould the departmental Dish Avenger keep tossing out communal mugs that faculty members refuse to wash? THE WELCOME MATOn his first day on the job, an assistant professor is handed an unusual gift. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe |