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From the issue dated June 27, 2008 |
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Short SubjectsHOW TO TURN ON A MACHINENews from the First International Conference on Human-Robot Personal Relationships. FEAR SELLS: Budding entrepreneurs at the University of Washington are selling self-defense kits in the wake of some high-profile violent crimes. A SALES PITCH GONE AWRY: Recent graduates of the University of Sydney got a rude shock when they opened their mail last month to find transcripts stamped with "fail." CATHOLIC TASTES: The pope probably wouldn't like the heavy-metal music on Seton Hall's student-run radio station, but not because it's anti-religious. Notes From AcademeA PEEK INTO POLITICSA program run by Rutgers University gives undergraduate women leadership skills in the hopes of encouraging them to run for public office. The FacultyREGIONAL UNRESTFaculty reassignments and resignations have left the Middle East Center at the University of Utah in turmoil, only a year before it must reapply for the federal grant that supports it. NEWS ANALYSIS: Will a plan to reorganize the AAUP succeed in solving its budget and membership crises? CONFERENCE NOTEBOOK: Members of the American Association of University Professors took on storm-related censures, overseas governance, and other hot-button issues at their annual meeting. PEER REVIEW: A prominent bioethicist won't say why he left the directorship of an institute he founded. ... Berkeley gets a Wall Street banker to help with its finances, at no charge. ... The new law dean at West Virginia University is eager to get started. Research & BooksA PAINLESS PLEDGEAnimal-rights activists are trying to garner support from small colleges as a way of pressuring research universities to curtail animal studies. THE STATE OF 'HUMAN SECURITY'It would seem that now, more than ever, the world needs an interdisciplinary field linking international relations to concerns of climate and natural resources. Yet some scholars still regard that approach skeptically, writes Peter Monaghan. PANIC GLOBALLY, HUNGER LOCALLYIs the world food crisis real? For perspective, consider the 1970s, writes Robert Paarlberg. GAMES PEOPLE PLAYAn experiment for condescending media theorists everywhere: Play Grand Theft Auto IV for a week or two, then see if you're a homicidal, stripper-gawking car thief, writes Bill Blake. 'THE IMAGINATION PUSHING BACK'Read poetry as if your life depended on it, and you may find that it does, writes Jay Parini. HOW TO TURN ON A MACHINE: News from the First International Conference on Human-Robot Personal Relationships. Information TechnologyA NEW VISION FOR FAMILIAR TECHNOLOGYA Carnegie Mellon University professor tries to turn the cellphone into an aid for the blind and deaf. Money & ManagementA BLACK COLLEGE REACHES OUTHoward University's recent $250-million capital campaign broke records for the university and for African-American institutions. Alumni made the difference. UNDERWATER AT THE U. OF IOWAAs the floodwaters rose, the campus saw dramatic rescues and heartbreaking losses — of research, musical instruments, and even homes. PERFORMANCE MEASURES: Minnesota's system of state colleges and universities has unveiled an Accountability Dashboard, a public display of gauges that show how the institutions are doing. SETTLEMENTS REACHED: Twenty-eight of the 32 families whose relatives were killed in the shootings at Virginia Tech last year have signed final agreements with the state. FUND-RAISING ADVICE: Knowing why people give to your group and what money means to donors is key to getting the big gift. PEER REVIEW: A prominent bioethicist won't say why he left the directorship of an institute he founded. ... Berkeley gets a Wall Street banker to help with its finances, at no charge. ... The new law dean at West Virginia University is eager to get started. Government & PoliticsA PEEK INTO POLITICSA program run by Rutgers University gives undergraduate women leadership skills in the hopes of encouraging them to run for public office. DEFINING DISABILITYA new measure would broaden coverage under the Americans With Disabilities Act, but not as much as an earlier bill, opposed by college officials, had sought to do. PROMOTING DIRECT LOANS: Low-income students will be among the hardest hit as private lenders cut back, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy told lobbyists for community colleges. ANNUAL REPORT ON STUDENT AID: State spending on loans and grants increased in the 2006-7 academic year after growth had slowed the year before. 'COMPETITIVENESS AGENDA': Economic success depends on improving education, said Sen. Barack Obama in outlining an economic agenda in his presidential campaign. SHARE MORE DATA: Colleges could free up more money for need-based aid if they worked together to end bidding wars for high-achieving, low-need students, says a white paper. StudentsTHE WORST-CASE SCENARIOMany colleges are taking steps to train students for the unlikely event of a campus shooting. DIFFERENT TEST, SAME RESULTSStudies by the College Board found that the predictive value of the new SAT is about the same as the old one. DEFINING DISABILITYA new measure would broaden coverage under the Americans With Disabilities Act, but not as much as an earlier bill, opposed by college officials, had sought to do. WIDE-RANGING WOLVERINES: The University of Michigan has enrolled an ethnically diverse freshman class despite being barred from considering race and ethnicity in admissions. FEAR SELLS: Budding entrepreneurs at the University of Washington are selling self-defense kits in the wake of some high-profile violent crimes. CATHOLIC TASTES: The pope probably wouldn't like the heavy-metal music on Seton Hall's student-run radio station, but not because it's anti-religious. AthleticsTALKING TOUGHER: The NCAA may strengthen its penalties for rules infractions. InternationalGEORGIA TURNS TO THE WESTUniversities in the former Soviet country are hiring faculty members trained in the West, teaching students in English instead of Russian, and replacing vocational education with liberal-arts programs. A BEACHHEAD AT OREGON STATEA London-based company with an unusual model for helping colleges recruit foreign students has generated both enthusiasm and concern on American campuses. A SALES PITCH GONE AWRY: Recent graduates of the University of Sydney got a rude shock when they opened their mail last month to find transcripts stamped with "fail." CommentaryTHE INSIDER'S VIEWAs provost, he knows more than he can possibly tell. That is the privilege — and the burden, writes James J. O'Donnell. MANY STUDENTS LEFT BEHINDWhere is the national will, asks Richard G. DiFeliciantonio, to ensure that students who want to go to college are financially able to do so? A CALL FOR TRANSPARENCYIf colleges are worried about the accountability called for by the Spellings Report, they ain't seen nothing yet, says Richard K. Vedder. The Chronicle ReviewTHE STATE OF 'HUMAN SECURITY'It would seem that now, more than ever, the world needs an interdisciplinary field linking international relations to concerns of climate and natural resources. Yet some scholars still regard that approach skeptically, writes Peter Monaghan. PANIC GLOBALLY, HUNGER LOCALLYIs the world food crisis real? For perspective, consider the 1970s, writes Robert Paarlberg. DESIRE'S OBJECTSIn trying to empower girls, we risk isolating them, writes Sharon Lamb. ARE THE DEVOUT JUST DENSE?Richard Lynn postulates a correlation between high intelligence and religious disbelief. His critics postulate a half-baked study. GAMES PEOPLE PLAYAn experiment for condescending media theorists everywhere: Play Grand Theft Auto IV for a week or two, then see if you're a homicidal, stripper-gawking car thief, writes Bill Blake. 'THE IMAGINATION PUSHING BACK'Read poetry as if your life depended on it, and you may find that it does, writes Jay Parini. SMALL PRINTLiner notes may have faded out, but MP3's have their own elucidating digital contexts, writes Kevin J.H. Dettmar. GEORGIA ON OUR MINDSO'Keeffe understood the power of the artist's mystique, in front of the canvas — and the camera. DOWNSIDE UPDisappointment as an elemental human experience doesn't get its due, writes Gordon Marino. NOTA BENE: Books on the conservative media establishment, mothers who kill their children, and online tribalism. Letters to the EditorChronicle CareersSUMMER CAMP FOR DIGITAL HUMANISTSAn English professor immerses himself in an emerging field that has already begun to redefine academic work. DISGRUNTLED AND DISTRESSEDWithout routine friendly interaction, many an academic turns to brooding, fuming, and totting up injustices. WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING?Graduate students often have no idea how to communicate with their advisers. DETAILS OF AVAILABLE POSTS, including teaching and research positions in higher education, administrative and executive jobs, and openings outside academe |