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From the issue dated February 1, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsMASCOT WATCHProtecting your mascot, the high price of mascot wear, and more. DOWN MEMORY LANE: A construction worker at Santa Clara University recovered a wallet lost by a student 33 years ago. COLD-CASE INVESTIGATION: Students at Bauder College set out to find the answers in some famous unsolved murders. WHAT THEY'RE READING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: A list of the best-selling books. The FacultyFIGHTING A GLUT OF COURSESA bloated curriculum feeds the exploitation of adjuncts, increases professors' workloads at the expense of research, and benefits students in unpopular majors at the expense of students in more-crowded ones. The key to streamlining course offerings, says Michael Bugeja, is balancing quality and demand. THE NEW FACE OF PEER REVIEWBlog comments get a tryout from an academic press. SYLLABUS: A course offered at Alfred University teaches history as portrayed by Monty Python's Flying Circus. Research & BooksPAPER TRAILThe Iraq Memory Foundation has struck a deal with the Hoover Institution to house the archives of Iraq's Baath Party, despite impassioned calls from Iraq's national archivist for the collections' immediate repatriation to Baghdad. AGENCY'S OVERSIGHT IS CRITICIZEDA new federal audit slams the National Institutes of Health for failing to police financial conflicts among its grant recipients at universities. DIGITAL DETECTIVE: New text-scanning software reveals scientists who may plagiarize or publish the same paper in different journals. HOT TYPE: Next year the American Economic Association will introduce four new quarterly journals, a step fueled in part by scholars' annoyance with the high price of economics journals published by for-profit firms. ON BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL: A new report from the Library of Congress says that cataloging should be decentralized, collaborative, and based on the Web in the future. Money & ManagementDESPITE MARKET CHAOS, HOPE FOR COLLEGESInstitutions earned an average of 17.2 percent on their endowments in the 2007 fiscal year, impressive returns that could prove to be an important financial cushion against a possible recession. Government & PoliticsPAID 'VOLUNTEERS'Students who raise money for Mitt Romney can earn 10 percent of the donations they bring in over $1,000. AGENCY'S OVERSIGHT IS CRITICIZEDA new federal audit slams the National Institutes of Health for failing to police financial conflicts among its grant recipients at universities. INNOVATION BY ACCREDITATIONThe Council for Higher Education Accreditation has honored three colleges for program changes they made in response to their accreditors' questions and advice. MISSING OUT ON SUPER TUESDAYDespite all the buzz around the student vote, many may not have registered in time for their states' primaries and caucuses. LOANS RESTRICTED: Sallie Mae says it will no longer make private loans to students with below-prime credit scores and will withhold services to colleges with poor graduation rates. Information TechnologyTHE NEW FACE OF PEER REVIEWBlog comments get a tryout from an academic press. DIGITAL DETECTIVE: New text-scanning software reveals scientists who may plagiarize or publish the same paper in different journals. TECH THERAPY: How to keep your e-mail in box sparkling clean. StudentsMISSING OUT ON SUPER TUESDAYDespite all the buzz around the student vote, many may not have registered in time for their states' primaries and caucuses. FIRST CHOICE VS. COSTConcerns about academic quality and affordability are at a 35-year high among college freshmen, according to a new survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles. PAID 'VOLUNTEERS'Students who raise money for Mitt Romney can earn 10 percent of the donations they bring in over $1,000. HOVERING OR NOT? Surveys of students' views put a different spin on stereotypes of "helicopter parents." STATISTICAL PROFILE: This year's freshmen at 4-year colleges. AthleticsMASCOT WATCHProtecting your mascot, the high price of mascot wear, and more. InternationalISRAELI STRIKE ENDSTenured university professors have gone back to work after 90 days on strike over pay issues. CUOMO WIDENS INQUIRYThe attorney general of New York expanded his investigation of study-abroad programs by sending requests for documents to 15 colleges and universities. CommentaryFIGHTING A GLUT OF COURSESA bloated curriculum feeds the exploitation of adjuncts, increases professors' workloads at the expense of research, and benefits students in unpopular majors at the expense of students in more-crowded ones. The key to streamlining course offerings, says Michael Bugeja, is balancing quality and demand. COLLEGES AS PROBLEM-SOLVERSUniversities are uniquely possessed of the intellectual and financial resources to help solve some of the world's most intractable problems-and they should feel a calling to do so, writes Robert Klitgaard. The Chronicle ReviewTHE ANIMA OF INDIAAmitava Kumar sees his homeland in a handful of fleeting moments — and memories. BOUNDARY ISSUESFor professors in the information age, the lines between work and home are blurry, at best. Some bolster the borders; others bask in the blend. IN A DIFFERENT VOICECarol Gilligan talks about writing her first novel, leaving Harvard, and her work at N.Y.U. PROFESSORIAL CHICK LITGilligan's novel, Kyra, dresses up the clichés of romantic fiction in intellectual conceits, writes Elaine Showalter. VIVE LA SIMILARITÉDeborah Cameron challenges the gender myths of Mars and Venus. INTELLECTUAL CONSTRUCTSFor W.A. Pannapacker, building bookshelves is almost as much fun as filling them. PERPETUAL CHECKOn the chess board, Bobby Fischer demonstrated all the clarity and grace that eluded him in the rest of his life, writes Leonard Cassuto. CRITICAL MASSThe retirement of the counterinsurgency expert Lt. Col. John A. Nagl. TALK OF THE GOWNCrime briefs, great-books edition, by Lawrence Douglas and Alexander George. MY SPACEThe geographer Mark Monmonier knows where he's at. NOTA BENE: Books on late-night comedy's impact on democracy, T.E. Lawrence, and the art of memoir. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersTHE MYTH OF FIRST-YEAR ENLIGHTENMENTIt's time to figure out how to work with the freshmen we have, rather than the ones in our admissions brochures. ON-THE-JOB TRAININGThree newcomers to the tenure track begin the process of becoming professors. NO STRINGS ATTACHEDAs fund raisers, we are always in search of creative ways to define and defend the annual fund. |