New York: Ex-professor guilty of threats

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on New York: Ex-professor guilty of threats

The Post-Standard: Ex-professor guilty of threats
Jury convicts Xiang Li of 11 felony counts. Morrisville victim feels “no joy.”

Kim Mills took a few minutes Monday before commenting on the conviction of a former colleague who had sent Mills threatening e-mails and made death threats by telephone.

“There’s no joy in this,” said Mills, whose life was turned upside down by the months of threats he endured from former Morrisville State College professor Xiang Li. “Nobody wins anything. It’s the end of a very difficult period. I think he’s a very dangerous man, and it’s been a very difficult experience.”

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Posted in Legal issues

In Crackdown on Corruption, Bangladesh Removes 4 University Presidents

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on In Crackdown on Corruption, Bangladesh Removes 4 University Presidents

The Chronicle News Blog: In Crackdown on Corruption, Bangladesh Removes 4 University Presidents

New Delhi — In what appears to be a sweeping anti-corruption drive in higher education, the Bangladesh government has removed the heads of four public universities for their alleged involvement in corruption and administrative irregularities, a local newspaper reports.

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Posted in Administration

Bangladesh: VCs of 3 public universities removed

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on Bangladesh: VCs of 3 public universities removed

Daily Star: VCs of 3 public universities removed

Vice-chancellors (VC) of three more public universities–Bangladesh Agriculture University (BAU), Mymensingh, Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) and Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU)–were removed yesterday in connection with their alleged involvement in corruption and administrative irregularities.

Chancellor Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday signed the letters removing Prof Mosharaf Hossain Miah of BAU, Prof Abul Khayer of NSTU and Prof Abdul Latif of PSTU in the public interest, a government handout said.

Earlier on May 15, the Rajshahi University vice-chancellor was removed.

The handout also said the government has temporarily given three others the additional charge of acting VC at the universities.

Prof M Aktar Hossain, dean of veterinary faculty of BAU, was made acting VC of that university. Sonjoy Kumar Adhikari, professor of Khulna University agrotechnology discipline, was made acting VC at NSTU and M Haroon-ur-Rashid, dean of agriculture faculty of PSTU, was given the charge of VC in that university.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) conducted investigations against top officials of a number of public universities and discovered financial and administrative irregularities, especially in recruiting teachers, at BAU, NSTU, PSTU and RU, sources in the education ministry said.

The vice-chancellors were removed following recommendations of the UGC, the sources added.

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Posted in Administration

UK: Education union attacks ‘creeping privatisation’

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on UK: Education union attacks ‘creeping privatisation’

The Guardian: Education union attacks ‘creeping privatisation’

The “creeping privatisation” of colleges and universities risks damaging the UK’s reputation for educational excellence, the University and College Union (UCU) is claiming.

The curriculum, research, core subjects, staff and student relationships, choice of degree courses, entry standards and quality control are all under threat, according to Sally Hunt, the unions’s general secretary.

In a critical speech at a conference in London on Saturday, Hunt will say: “The creeping privatisation in further and higher education is one of the biggest threats we face today. In the ten years up to 2004, private sector investment in tertiary education grew by 85%, while public spending grew by just 6%.

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Posted in Corporate University

N.C. pushes ban on illegal immigrant students

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on N.C. pushes ban on illegal immigrant students

The State: N.C. pushes ban on illegal immigrant students

While other states struggle with the issue, North Carolina alone is moving ahead with an interpretation of a federal law that the state says bars illegal immigrants from attending community colleges, even if the students pay more than the cost of their education.

IN-STATE TUITION
Ten states offer in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, according to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities:

* California
* Illinois
* Kansas
* Nebraska
* New Mexico
* New York
* Oklahoma
* Texas
* Utah
* Washington

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Posted in Students

South Carolina: Furman student group slams foes of Bush speech

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on South Carolina: Furman student group slams foes of Bush speech

The Greenville News: Furman student group slams foes of Bush speech
Letters support, oppose May visit by president

President Bush’s planned May 31 commencement address continued to roil the Furman University campus Monday as a conservative group released what it said was a letter signed by 502 students and “Furman community” members critical of faculty objections to the visit.
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The “Support Our Seniors” letter by Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow said, “Unfortunately, some professors seem intent on turning what should be a celebration of their students’ accomplishments into a forum to air their political differences with President Bush.”

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Posted in Protests

Colorado: Departures come amid budget struggles at CSU vet hospital

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on Colorado: Departures come amid budget struggles at CSU vet hospital

Coloradoan: Departures come amid budget struggles at CSU vet hospital

The top two administrators at Colorado State University’s veterinary hospital quit under pressure last week as the facility struggles to overcome a $2 million shortfall.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

South Carolina: Bush commencement speech at Furman prompts protest

Posted on May 21, 2008 by | Comments Off on South Carolina: Bush commencement speech at Furman prompts protest

AP: Bush commencement speech at Furman prompts protest

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Some faculty members at Furman University have suggested they won’t attend graduation ceremonies because President Bush is scheduled to speak, but a group of conservative students wants the university to step in and block the protest.

Bush is scheduled to give Furman’s graduation speech May 31 at the fairly conservative school of 2,625 undergraduate students with Baptist roots.

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Posted in Protests

New York: SUNY grapples with budget

Posted on May 20, 2008 by | Comments Off on New York: SUNY grapples with budget

Times-Union: SUNY grapples with budget

ALBANY — A few months ago, then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer barnstormed the state promoting his dream to build a $4 billion endowment for SUNY and CUNY.

This week, SUNY trustee H. Carl McCall drew laughs at a board meeting with gallows humor about how he shouldn’t use the word “execution” when talking about what will have to be done to the system’s budget.

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Posted in Budgets & Funding

Creationism Persists in American Science Classrooms

Posted on May 20, 2008 by | Comments Off on Creationism Persists in American Science Classrooms

The Chronicle: Creationism Persists in American Science Classrooms

A significant fraction of high-school biology teachers acknowledge teaching some form of creationism, according to the first large national survey to probe how that issue is handled inside American classrooms. At the same time, teachers with the most college-level biology credits were likely to spend the most time teaching evolution, indicating that college training shapes the way teachers treat this cornerstone of scientific thought.

One in eight teachers said they taught creationism as a “valid scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species,” reports a team led by Michael B. Berkman, a professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University at University Park. The survey results, published in the journal PLoS Biology on Monday, also reveal that one in six biology teachers believe that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.”

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Posted in Academics

A Philosopher Stirs Up the World of Adjuncts

Posted on May 20, 2008 by | Comments Off on A Philosopher Stirs Up the World of Adjuncts

The Chronicle: A Philosopher Stirs Up the World of Adjuncts

Gadfly takes on colleges, lawmakers, and unions

Keith Hoeller is an adjunct professor. He teaches philosophy for a living at Green River Community College, just outside Seattle. He has also spent much of the last two decades ruminating about the bigger picture for those at his level of the professorial pecking order.

Why can colleges and universities pay part-time faculty members so much less money than full-time professors for the same course load? On what basis are adjuncts largely denied benefits? How can academic freedom exist for those who lack job security? And what impact will the explosion in the use of part-time lecturers, paid by the course, have on higher education as a whole?

But Mr. Hoeller, 59, does not merely think big thoughts about adjuncts. He has put his ideas into action as an activist on behalf of about 10,000 part-time lecturers in Washington State’s community colleges. He is also a voice for adjuncts on the national level, where nearly 70 percent of professors at colleges and universities hold positions off the tenure track.

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Posted in Contingent labor

Lebanon’s Universities Reopen

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on Lebanon’s Universities Reopen

The Chronicle News Blog: Lebanon’s Universities Reopen

The American University of Beirut, along with most other Lebanese universities, resumed classes today after being closed for more than a week. AUB reopened with “cautious optimism,” its president, John Waterbury, wrote.

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Posted in International

Calvin board OKs gun policy for campus police

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on Calvin board OKs gun policy for campus police

Grand Rapids Press: Calvin board OKs gun policy for campus police

GRAND RAPIDS — It’s official: Calvin College this fall will become the first private college in the region to allow safety personnel with a police background to carry handguns on campus.

College trustees approved the use-of-force policy this weekend after a lengthy question-and-answer session about the rules, said Bastian Knoppers, who chairs the 30-member board.

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Posted in Working conditions

Texas: Baylor U officials mum on campus president’s future

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on Texas: Baylor U officials mum on campus president’s future

Tribune-Herald : BU officials mum on campus president’s future

Baylor University officials, speaking with the Tribune-Herald Friday after a closed-door board of regents meeting, declined to reveal whether a vote had been taken on embattled President John Lilley’s future at Baylor.

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Posted in Administration

Two West Virginia University professors suspect retaliation for remarks

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on Two West Virginia University professors suspect retaliation for remarks

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Two West Virginia University professors suspect retaliation for remarks

Two West Virginia University professors have filed a grievance after being told their offices are being relocated, a decision they were informed of the day after one of them called for President Mike Garrison’s resignation.

Judy Sedgeman and Dr. William Pettit of WVU’s Health Sciences Center believe the decision by interim medical school dean Dr. James Brick may be retaliation for comments Ms. Sedgeman made at Wednesday’s rare facultywide meeting, which delivered a 565-39 vote of no confidence in the embattled president.

The faculty also approved a measure to establish an outside panel that would review reports of intimidation against those who speak out against the administration. The measure was sparked by reports that students and faculty who oppose Mr. Garrison are being intimidated, a fear that is particularly strong at the university’s Health Sciences Center, where the medical school dean resigned suddenly April 8 and consultants have been brought in to restructure operations.

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Posted in Uncategorized

New York: MCC trustees deadlock over next president

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on New York: MCC trustees deadlock over next president

Democrat and Chronicle: MCC trustees deadlock over next president

The controversial and divisive search for a new president of Monroe Community College that might have ended Saturday instead will go on for several months, perhaps a year.

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Posted in Administration

Lesbian and Gay Activists Object to New Orleans Site for Political-Science Conference

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on Lesbian and Gay Activists Object to New Orleans Site for Political-Science Conference

The Chronicle: Lesbian and Gay Activists Object to New Orleans Site for Political-Science Conference

In the latest dispute over civil rights and the obligations of scholarly groups, the American Political Science Association is facing calls to relocate its 2012 convention, which is scheduled to be held in New Orleans.

Lesbian and gay activists in the association say that a “defense of marriage” amendment approved by Louisiana voters in 2004 contains such severe language that they and their partners would face risks in visiting the state. But other scholars argue that New Orleans needs support in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and that the city itself has historically been tolerant, whatever the politics of the rest of Louisiana.

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Posted in Diversity

Hundreds turn back on Schlafly at ceremony

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | Comments Off on Hundreds turn back on Schlafly at ceremony

St Louis Post-Dispatch: Hundreds turn back on Schlafly at ceremony

ST. LOUIS — Some felt the silent protest with white armbands and the dramatic turning of backs was disrespectful.

But those who took part said it was a fitting way to show their disapproval that Washington University was honoring a woman whose views and life’s work they strongly disagree with.

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Posted in Protests

Forum Focuses on Private Role in Expanding Global Access to Higher Education

Posted on May 16, 2008 by | Comments Off on Forum Focuses on Private Role in Expanding Global Access to Higher Education

The Chronicle: Forum Focuses on Private Role in Expanding Global Access to Higher Education

Educators need to think beyond traditional models to expand access to higher education worldwide, said speakers at a conference here that was sponsored by a private lending arm of the World Bank that makes education loans and other private-sector investments in developing countries.

The International Finance Corporation’s International Forum on Private Education, which wraps up today, focused on issues and innovations that included the increasing role of private higher education in the world market, regulatory barriers to private investment, and the growth of private student loans.

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Posted in Corporate University

San Diego State U. Defends Its Role in Federal Drug Sting

Posted on May 16, 2008 by | Comments Off on San Diego State U. Defends Its Role in Federal Drug Sting

The Chronicle: San Diego State U. Defends Its Role in Federal Drug Sting

Drugs are common on college campuses. Federal stings are not.

But when a freshman at San Diego State University died of a cocaine overdose last May, the campus police chief decided to pursue a full-scale investigation. In December he summoned undercover agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to pose as students and roam the campus in search of illegal drugs.

Last week San Diego County’s district attorney disclosed the yearlong investigation—Operation Sudden Fall—and its outcome: 125 arrests, including 95 students. Law-enforcement officers seized $100,000 in drugs, $60,000 in cash, and four guns. University officials suspended six fraternities, as well as 33 students charged with felonies, and congratulated themselves.

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Posted in Administration