Inside Higher Ed reports on a new study of the connection between college athletics and alumni giving, with some interesting findings: First, they find that male alumni who played on teams while they were undergraduates are more likely to donate more (to the athletics department and to the university as a whole) when the teams… Continue reading Athletics and Alumni
Category: Academia
Matter and Interactions by Chabay and Sherwood
Today’s episode of “Thrilling Tales of Physics Pedagogy” is brought to you through a comment by CCPhysicst who picks up on the implications of last week’s schedule post: You are ripping right along in that course. You do E and then B and only later get around to circuits? Yes and no. We are ripping… Continue reading Matter and Interactions by Chabay and Sherwood
Beer is Not Uncultured
Every Friday (more or less) there’s a “Faculty Social Hour” on campus. They have cheese and crackers, a fairly random assortment of beer, and a couple of bottles of wine, and various faculty come by to wind down a bit at the end of the week. It’s a chance to socialize a little with people… Continue reading Beer is Not Uncultured
Abstraction, Compartmentalization, and Education
Given the amount of time I’ve spent writing about academic issues this week, it’s only fitting that the science story getting the most play is about math education. Ed Yong provides a detailed explanation, and Kenneth Chang summarizes the work in the New York Times. Here’s Ed’s introduction: Except they don’t really work. A new… Continue reading Abstraction, Compartmentalization, and Education
The Japanese Directions Theory of Pedagogy
We had a great time on our visit to Japan last summer, but we had one incredibly frustrating experience, on our first day in Yokohama. We couldn’t bring three full weeks’ worth of clothing with us, so we brought a bit more than one week’s worth, and planned to get things cleaned there. The hotel… Continue reading The Japanese Directions Theory of Pedagogy
Busy, Busy, Busy
Monday 9:00-10:15 am Grade exams from last week. 10:15-10:30 am Prepare for lecture 10:30-11:35 am Lecture about magnetic field of current loop, in-class activity on field of solenoid 11:35-12:45 pm Gasp, pant, eat lunch. 12:45-2:45 pm Tweak up apparatus for laser spectroscopy of rubidium lab 3:00-5:00 pm Test and set up lab on finding Earth’s… Continue reading Busy, Busy, Busy
Loan Forgiveness for Public Service
As I may have mentioned in the past, we at Chateau Steelypips have benefitted greatly from Yale Law School’s loan forgiveness program for graduates taking public service jobs. Since Kate shattered my dreams of a self-funded basement lab by deciding to use her pricey law degree for good rather than racking up billions as Evil… Continue reading Loan Forgiveness for Public Service
Non-Dorky Poll: Political Documentaries
The release of Expelled has generated all sorts of chatter, almost certainly more than it deserves on its merits as a film. It’s also produced repeated mentions of the fact that it’s the eight highest-grossing political documentary of all time– most recently, Tara Smith writing at Correlations. That claim reminds me of a long-ago student… Continue reading Non-Dorky Poll: Political Documentaries
Non-Transferable Strategies, or Aiiiieeee!!! Profzilla!!!
Another reason why I recommend limiting the advice you listen to as a new faculty member on the tenure track is that most of the things that academics do are highly individual activities. There’s no one right way to teach or do research, and what works for one person may fail miserably for another. My… Continue reading Non-Transferable Strategies, or Aiiiieeee!!! Profzilla!!!
Advice for the Tenure Track
Janet follows a post by ScienceWoman on prioritizing research time with a List of advice for tenure-track faculty. It’s excellent advice if you’re a junior academic seeking tenure. I have only one suggestion to add: Seek advice, but don’t take too much of it. If you’re on the tenure track, you will have friends and… Continue reading Advice for the Tenure Track