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Leadership
How Presidents Try to Stay Ahead of the Social-Media Outrage Machine
Its lightning speed and broad reach have college leaders scrambling to keep controversies from spinning dangerously out of control. -
When It Comes to Campus Crises, College Communications Staffs Plan, React, and Fret
Any statement released by a university is parsed “almost at a Talmudic level,” one communications director laments. -
The Review
The New Performing-Arts Curriculum
To help students find their way in the new arts economy, we must teach them to market, produce, and present their own ideas. -
The Review
It’s Never Too Soon to Talk About Mental Health
Conversations about what a student truly needs and what a college can reasonably offer should be part of the admissions process. -
News
As Sports Spending Soars, Programs Scramble to Keep Up
Declines in tuition revenue and cutbacks in state budgets have led more colleges to question the sustainability of athletics spending. But will anyone really pull back? -
What You Need to Know About the Past 7 Days
At Baylor, the Title IX coordinator resigns (but wants to keep book and movie rights to her story). At Harvard, the endowment managers have a bad year (and the dining-services employees go on strike). And the rapper Drake visits Drake University — but so late at night that almost no one’s awake to see him. -
The Review
Curricular Cop-Out on Co-ops
There’s an illustrious form of enterprise that business schools largely ignore. -
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News
Wellesley’s New President Brings a Background of Firsts
Paula A. Johnson, a medical doctor, has a long history of breaking barriers to leadership. -
News
2010: That’s Why They’re Called Trustees
One-fourth of private colleges do business with companies run by members of their governing boards. Whose interests come first? -
News
‘My Father and Atticus Finch’
A book about 1930s Alabama reminds an English professor of the unalloyed racism that still exists today. -
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News
Appointments, Resignations, Deaths (10/14/2016)
Top Chief Executives Chapman University, Daniele Struppa Southern Adventist University, David Smith West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Anton Reece Appointments Jodi Abbott, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, to assistant dean of academic affairs for patient safety and… -
News
Deadlines (10/14/2016)
Awards and prizes October 14: Professional fields. The National Press Foundation is accepting nominations for its journalism awards. Visit the organization’s website for more details. Contact: http://nationalpress.org/awards October 31: Education. Nominations are being accepted for the 2017 Harold… -
The Review
Can Transcendence Be Taught?
College should prepare students not only for a rich life but also for a meaningful death. -
News
How One University Closed the Gender Gap in STEM-Faculty Hiring
Some departments at Montana State University had just one female professor, or none at all. But in the last four years, half of all STEM hires have been women. -
Race on Campus
When Racism Reappears, How Can a Campus Show It Has Made Any Gains?
A report of racial slurs at the University of Missouri at Columbia has renewed tensions over race relations there. Some people are suggesting that white students, faculty, and staff have yet to do their part. -
Inclusion
At U. of New Mexico, Long-Simmering Frustrations Over a Seal Find a Receptive Ear
The seal features images of a frontiersman and a conquistador. For decades, critics have protested it as racist. Now, there’s hope it might finally be changed. -
Research
An Ambitious Science Hub’s New Leader Explains Its Bid to Find All Cures
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, the pediatrician Priscilla Chan, have invested $600 million in a new lab space for universities in the Bay Area. The Chronicle talks to one of its directors. -
Academic Freedom
How One College Quelled Controversy Over a Koch-Financed Center
Western Carolina University faced a faculty rebellion over plans to use funds from the conservative Charles Koch Foundation to create a new research center on free enterprise. It found ways to render the gift agreement much easier for critics to swallow. -
Athletics
Court’s Refusal to Hear O’Bannon Case Leaves Player-Pay Issue Unsettled
The Supreme Court’s action lets stand lower-court rulings that allow college athletes to be compensated up to their full cost of attendance. -
Finance
What a $2-Billion Loss Really Means for Harvard and Its Endowment
Some observers dismiss a year of bad returns as of little consequence for the world’s richest university. Others see a cautionary tale over how elite institutions use and invest their endowments. -
Race on Campus
A Gorilla-Masked Student’s Attempt to Provoke Is Met With Peace
Instead of prompting violence or dividing the campus, an offensive stunt at East Tennessee State University led to a larger conversation about race relations. -
The Review
A Holocaust Historian’s Trial Hits the Big Screen
Deborah E. Lipstadt, a historian at Emory University, talks about a new movie, Denial, based on her experience of being sued by a Holocaust denier and defeating him in court. -
The Review
O Say Must We Stand?
The controversy over “The Star-Spangled Banner” presents an opportunity for a conversation about peaceful dissent and free speech. -
Race on Campus
What Should Colleges Do to Discipline Students Who Spew Hate?
In response to racist incidents, colleges can suspend or expel. But some professionals advocate restorative justice as a more effective alternative. -
Accreditors Rarely Lose Lawsuits, but They Keep Getting Sued. Here’s Why.
Without accreditation, colleges are not eligible for federal student aid, and much more likely to have to close their doors. -
Advice
Academic Ethics: What Should We Do With Sexual Harassers in Academe?
Should they be barred permanently from teaching? -
On Leadership
Video: What the Black Lives Matter Movement Means for Historically Black Colleges
The group’s protests against racism at predominantly white colleges have led to a different set of conversations on historically black campuses, says Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Dillard University.