I had to do a couple of tests yesterday that required me to start something in the lab and then leave it alone for an hour, so I wandered over to a talk sponsored by the History department. Spencer Crew, the former director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH was in… Continue reading Spencer Crew, The Underground Railroad in the Ohio River Valley
Category: Academia
Those Who Have No $&%#@! Idea, Go Into Administration
Inside Higher Ed reports on this week’s candidate for Dumbest Administration Ever: Arkansas Tech: After the Virginia Tech murders a year ago, Yale University banned the use of stage weapons in a student theatrical production — infuriating actors and educators who believed audience members could distinguish drama from real life. After a few days of… Continue reading Those Who Have No $&%#@! Idea, Go Into Administration
Questions of Ethics
Janet Stemwedel is blogging, as is her wont, about questions of ethical behavior in science. She had a post Monday giving advice on how to counter unethical behavior, which all seems pretty good to me. Unfortunately, the people who read and comment on blogs about academic culture tend to start at “corrosively cynical,” and get… Continue reading Questions of Ethics
Northern Illinois
There has been another shooting on a college campus, with a gunman opening fire on a geology class at Northern Illinois, before killing himself. Early reports suggest that the safety measures put into place after the Virginia Tech tragedy all worked properly, and the response from police was as quick as could be hoped. The… Continue reading Northern Illinois
Props to Student Life
Over at Slaves of Academe, Oso Raro rants about student life professionals. The Dean Dad offers a defense of student life offices on procedural grounds (which is how I found the original piece). It’s hard to judge how much of the original rant is humorous exaggeration. There are some reasonable elements to his critique of… Continue reading Props to Student Life
Dispatches from the Class War
Via Inside Higher Ed, the Boston Globe reports that the Pentagon opposes increasing GI Bill funding. Why? Because if they gave them full tuition, eligible soldiers might not re-enlist: Now, five years into the Iraq conflict, a movement is gathering steam in Washington to boost the payout of the GI Bill, to provide a true… Continue reading Dispatches from the Class War
Non-Dorky Poll: One Movie to Share
I’m currently serving as one of the faculty members involved with a new-ish residential life initiative aimed at raising the intellectual tone around campus. A big part of this is trying to get faculty members to do things in the campus housing spaces. This has all the logistical hassles you would expect, as so we’re… Continue reading Non-Dorky Poll: One Movie to Share
Ask Mister Language Person
What’s the difference between a “seminar” and a “colloquium”? Is there a difference?
Dorky Poll: Seminars from Hell
Over at Biocurious, Phillip has a post on the generic science seminar outline: 1. Introduction of Esteemed Speaker by Local Professor with the largest overlap in research interests. Enumeration of every award Esteemed Speaker has ever garnered is standard issue, and if Local Professor and Esteemed Speaker know each other, humorous story from “well, not… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Seminars from Hell
What Employers Want
I haven’t linked to Inside Higher Ed in a few days, but lest you think I’ve forgotten them, they have a short piece today about the results of a survey of employers “with at least 25 employees and significant hiring of recent college graduates,” regarding the preparation of their recent hires. It turns out that… Continue reading What Employers Want