Oct. 27, 2017

During a trip to Chicago, Walter Kimbrough meets with administrators at Urban Prep Academy, a charter school. He also spoke, one on one, to several students about their college plans.

News

Walter Kimbrough’s Higher Calling

By Adam Harris

Black colleges need someone to carry their banner. This pastor’s son is stepping up.

Tianna Avery thought she might want to be a doctor, but Carleton College’s career programs helped her find a new focus on computer science.

News

From Liberal Arts to Making a Living

By Michael Anft

Critical-thinking skills and a broad education aren’t enough. Small colleges are making career services, too, a priority.

News

Offering the Career Edge

By Michael Anft

A small network has grown more than tenfold in 20 years as private liberal-arts colleges have decided their responsibilities don’t end at graduation.

The Review

The Wisdom of Hosting a Presidential Debate — or Not

By Justin Pope

Go for it, says one administrator who’s been through the experience, but only if you can respond with a confident “yes” to four questions.

Andy Chan directs the Office of Personal and Career Development at Wake Forest U.

News

Starting a Career Center

By Michael Anft

The director of Wake Forest University’s Office of Career and Professional Development shares tips about what’s helped his program become a model for other colleges.

News

What I’m Reading: ‘Playing by the Rules’

By Lou Reinisch

A book that questions assumptions prompts an interim provost to examine some of the blindly-followed “rules” in academe.

David A. Thomas will be the next president of Morehouse College.

News

Appointments, Resignations, Deaths (10/27/2017)

Compiled by M.J. Prest

Morehouse College chose a Harvard Business School professor as its next leader, and Pratt Institute appointed its first female president.

News

The Costly Obsession With B.A.s

By Peter Monaghan

A new book examines the ways in which colleges guide some students toward failure.

News

Selected New Books on Higher Education

The latest topics include how to protect free speech on campus.

News

Weekly Book List, October 27, 2017

Compiled by Nina C. Ayoub

Descriptions of the latest titles, divided by category.

Could Apple Computer Have Survived Higher Ed? 1

The Review

Commentary: Could Apple Computer Have Survived Higher Ed?

By Jeffrey Ratje

Ideas for improving academic culture abound, but too many die on the vine. Universities can change that.

The Review

How an Experiment in 3-D Printing Illuminated Our Humanities Classroom

By Marta Figlerowicz and Ayesha Ramachandran

The buggy unfamiliarity of the new technology helped students see older media with fresh eyes.

Chronicle List

Recent Private Gifts to Higher Education (October 2017)

By Chronicle Staff

A $200-million gift to the University of California at Irvine will support a stronger focus on interdisciplinary integrative health.

Dahpon Ho, an assistant professor of history at the U. of Rochester: "Students have to feel that they’re part of the historical community. If history is fossilized, it will perish."

News

Dahpon Ho Brings History Alive

By Ben Gose

By using their imaginations, says the University of Rochester historian, students absorb history far better than from a textbook.

Justin McDaniel, a religious-studies professor at the U. of Pennsylvania, teaches what his dean calls "the only humanities course that has a lab section." He talks to Thessalonica Goodine, a student.

News

Justin McDaniel Opens a Door to Contemplative Life

By Beckie Supiano

The religious-studies scholar at the University of Pennsylvania oversees a course that requires students to live like monks.

The Review

Commentary: What My Struggling Students Wanted Me to Understand

By Nicole Matos

Developmental instructors need to make room for students’ feelings.

"One way or another," Catherine Shoulders says, "I’ve got to provide that feedback. This is the most efficient way to do so."

News

Catherine Shoulders Shows How an Expert’s Opinion Unfolds

By Dan Berrett

By recording on video her initial reaction to students’ assignments, this professor lets them see what an intellectual process looks like.

John Zubizarreta participates in a dance demonstration led by his students as part of their study of the novel  "Dancing for Degas."

News

John Zubizarreta Gets Students Excited About Literature

By Lawrence Biemiller

The professor at Columbia College, in South Carolina, tells his students that “we’re here to build bridges in your brain.”

Eric Saliim, an adjunct instructor at North Carolina Central U., says he tries to convey to students that "science is really fun. We don’t wear suits all day."

News

Eric Saliim Puts Science Into Everyday Life

By Lawrence Biemiller

At North Carolina Central University, he uses cellphones and Snapchat to prove that research isn’t too complex for anyone.

Allan Goldstein, a senior lecturer in NYU’s engineering school, invites people with disabilities into the classroom to consult with students.

News

Alan Goldstein Makes Disability Less Abstract

By Ben Gose

His courses introduce engineering students to adults with disabilities, and together they make films about the adults’ lives.

"It’s OK to be stuck," Stan Yoshinobu emphasizes in his syllabi. Growth is based "on error recovery, not mistake avoidance."

News

Stan Yoshinobu Spreads the Word About Inquiry-Based Math

By Kelly Field

The professor emphasizes that intellectual growth is based “on error recovery, not mistake avoidance.”

Ariel Anbar, a professor in Arizona State U.’s School of Earth and Space and Exploration, has designed innovative interactive science courses for students who aren’t majoring in science.

News

Ariel Anbar Designs Online Science Labs With Video-Game Appeal

By Beth McMurtrie

The inspiration for his popular, interactive courses stems from his frustration with the traditional lecture format.

Vicki Reitenauer of Portland State U. uses small-group discussions in her classes in gender and sexuality studies, and she asks students to grade themselves.

News

Vicki Reitenauer Helps Students Find Their Voice — and Their Power

By Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez

She requires students to identify their course goals for the semester, the grade they expect to earn, and their plan for achieving both.

Amardeep Kahlon, a computer-science professor at Austin Community College, in Texas: "What can we do to allow students to leverage their prior learning and get some credit for it?"

News

Amardeep Kahlon Tailors Courses to Students’ Learning Styles

By Katherine Mangan

She puts the focus on online material that allows students to progress at their own pace but doesn’t let them get ahead of themselves.

Innovation

Commentary: A Newer Education for Our Era

By Cathy N. Davidson

We need to teach creativity, collaboration, and adaptability.

News

Why This Year’s Hazing Death Is Different

By Sara Lipka

You should know the details, captured on video, of how Timothy Piazza died at Penn State, says Caitlin Flanagan. Then maybe colleges would reconsider their relationship with fraternities.

A Facebook ad sponsored by the U. of Virginia. Colleges and universities are spending millions on such ads, and data from admissions applications are one of their secret weapons. Privacy experts are crying foul.

Admissions Technology

Colleges Use Facebook Ads to Target Applicants, Parents, and Lawmakers

By Michael Vasquez

Colleges are spending millions on the ads. Data from admissions applications are one of their secret weapons. Privacy experts are crying foul.

Commentary

The Sexism That Permeates the Academy

By Peggy O’Donnell

Believing gendered hierarchy should not exist in the world that we want does not mean that gendered hierarchy does not exist in the world that we have.

Eric Sinacori poses with his mother, Francesca. He died of a heroin overdose in 2013 after campus police at the U. of Massachusetts at Amherst promised him they wouldn’t tell his parents about his drug problem if he helped them catch other offenders.

News

When Colleges Use Their Own Students to Catch Drug Dealers

By Suhauna Hussain

Campus police departments’ use of confidential informants is shrouded in secrecy. The Chronicle obtained records detailing the practice at 100 campuses. Here’s what we found.

News

The Many Paths of the Would-Be Professoriate

By Audrey Williams June

A national program seeks to prepare the faculty members of tomorrow. About half of the recent participants at Duke University have become professors, for reasons that reflect personal choice, social forces, and quirks of fate.

Harvey Weinstein at a 2013 event in Los Angeles. The accusations against the Hollywood producer have prompted frank conversations about sexual misconduct. But it will still take a lot to shift how higher education treats such cases, experts say.

News

Will Fury Over Harvey Weinstein Allegations Change Academe’s Handling of Harassment?

By Katherine Mangan

The accusations against the Hollywood producer have prompted frank conversations about sexual misconduct. But it will still take a lot to shift how higher education treats such cases, experts say.

George Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor in the politics and global-studies department at Drexel U., was put on leave after his Twitter posts about the Las Vegas shooting prompted threats.

News

A Professor Is Placed on Leave After an Internet Furor and Threats. What Happens to the Students?

By Chris Quintana

Drexel University removed George Ciccariello-Maher from the classroom after he made controversial remarks. His students say they’re frustrated by the decision.