Women in Higher Education articles from November 2008

Women in Higher Education archives from November 2008

Remaining barriers to equity are tougher to fix.
November 1, 2008... Women scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are much better off than they were 15 years ago, thanks to efforts spearheaded by Dr. Nancy Hopkins, MIT's Amgen, Inc., professor of molecular biology. But she's on an emotional...

New generation fails to lead in education.(NEWSWATCH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... For the first time in decades, young Americans are no better educated than their ancestors. "It appears that we are at a tipping point in our nation's history,' said Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education,...

Court could limit sex harassment claims.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case this December that could make it more challenging for plaintiffs to win sexual harassment suits against educational institutions. The case is expected to be the most significant one for higher...

Iowa Prez fires VPs for mishandling rape.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... University of Iowa President Sally Mason fired two top administrators in the wake of the mishandling of a complaint of an alleged sexual assault at a campus residence hall last year. Mason fired Phillip Jones, VP for student services, and...

ACE report warns of administrative scarcity.(NEWSWATCH)(American Council on Education)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... There may be a shortage of college administrators in the future, warns a recent report from the American Council on Education. The report cites a lack of young, permanent faculty who have the time and opportunity to advance up the...

Experts question overuse of sat, act.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Colleges should move away from their reliance on standardized test scores in the admissions process and instead focus on high school curriculum and achievement, according to a study released by the National Association for College Admissions...

Elite schools cut Insurance to grad families.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... In a move that seems like cutting off one's nose to spite its face, several elite schools with huge endowments are cutting family health insurance coverage to its grad students, most of whom earn less than $20,000 a year and cannot take extra...

Rutgers poly sci women complain of bias.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Women in New Jersey's Rutgers University's political science department are unfairly compensated and shut out of leadership positions, according to a complaint filed by the department's female grad students and faculty. The women filed a...

Ithaca prof charges politics cost her tenure.(NEWSWATCH)(Margo Ramlal-Nankoe)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... An Ithaca College NY sociology professor is claiming that the school's political views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have led to her being denied tenure twice. Margo Ramlal-Nankoe teaches courses on global race and ethnic relations...

Academic women win 'genius awards'.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Eight academic women were among the 25 McArthur fellows for 2008. Each recipient receives a $500,000 "no strings attached" award to further her work. Applicants were judged on creativity, originality and potential for future contributions....

Academia severely mistreats adjuncts.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... While part-time adjuncts teach up to 75% of credit hours at some schools, they receive low pay, few benefits, no job security and little respect. Most are women. Speaking at the annual meeting of the College and University Professional...

Adjuncts seek academic freedom protection.(NEWSWATCH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... With almost 70% of the nation's college and university courses taught by professors working off of the tenure track, adjunct professors are seeking better protection of their academic freedom. Most colleges can fire adjuncts on the spot or...

Report: football sucks more resources.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Sports spending at Division I schools has increased 7% a year since the mid-90s, which has limited opportunities for sports other than football and basketball, according to a report from a University of Arizona researcher. Professor John...

Sex harassment claims hit Marching bands.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Marching bands at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California-Davis are in hot water over recent allegations of sexual harassment. At UW-Madison, the entire world-famous 300-member marching band was suspended for a...

Lock haven u agrees to pay coach $200,000.(NEWSWATCH)(Lock Haven University )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania has agreed to settle a sex bias suit with its field hockey coach for $200,000. Patricia Rudy initially sued the State System, each of its 14 schools and the board of governors, alleging that 119 female...

San Diego to pay ex-coach $1.45 million.(NEWSWATCH)(Deena Deardurff Schmidt)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... San Diego State University will pay almost $1.5 million to settle a Title IX suit filed against the school by its former swim coach. Deena Deardurff Schmidt sued in November 2007, alleging that the school mistreated her, had "unequal and...

Coach at San Diego sues for gender bias.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Courtney Bale, a strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State University, has filed a sex discrimination suit against the California State University Board of Trustees, claiming that she received unequal treatment and pay based on gender....

Ex-SMU player sues over lost scholarship.(NEWSWATCH)(Southern Methodist University)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A former basketball player at Southern Methodist University TX is suing the school and her head coach, claiming that they retaliated after her complaints about the coach. Jennifer Colli said SMU revoked her athletics scholarship after she...

Wisconsin ok to deny funding Catholics.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... A federal district judge ruled that the University of Wisconsin-Madison had the right to deny funding to some of the activities of a Catholic student group. The Roman Catholic Foundation, a campus student group, had filed suit, claming...

Hispanic sororities offer support.(NEWSWATCH)
November 1, 2008... Latina sororities act as strong support groups on campus, according to a study on Hispanic participation in Hispanic sororities. Membership in Latina sororities helps students adjust to college life and further commit to school, said Gina...

Women leaders: collective and compassionate.
November 1, 2008... No one leads in a vacuum. Yet the hierarchical, top-down approach to leadership sets up the leader to be all-knowing, consistently right and unable or unwilling to ask for help or listen to various viewpoints. We've all seen where this model...

A diverse culture needs a diversity of ideas.
November 1, 2008... Changing a school's culture is like turning a battleship. It can be done, but not without substantial effort, time, resources and strong leadership. The task can be more difficult if the school is religiously affiliated and potential changes...

Relating in technicolor: how to understand others.
November 1, 2008... "My parents raised me green and gold but I think I'm a blue at heart." "My partner's so orange, it drives my gold side crazy." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gibberish? Interior decorating? No, it's an accessible, nonjudgmental way to talk...

Women as leaders: lit review, tests, models.(Part I of a series on women as leaders in the academy)
November 1, 2008... Today's playing field in academic leadership disadvantages women. They face a chilly climate, fewer resources and opportunities, and conscious or unconscious gender bias, including sexual harassment. Despite the pervasive male work climate,...

Faculty shortage? Try part-time faculty with tenure.
November 1, 2008... Eight years have passed since Dr. Robert Drago and Dr. Joan Williams published "A Half-Time Tenure Track Proposal" (Change 2000) but full-time is still the faculty norm. With fulltime faculty in the sciences working between 50 and 80 hours a...

Lessons to be learned from working class 'Cliffies'.(MOVEABLE TYPE)
November 1, 2008... Education is supposed to be the great American equalizer, the nugget of truth in the myth of a classless society. In fact, as many studies have shown, education helps perpetuate the status quo. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Upward mobility...

Activist strategies to change your campus curriculum.(IN HER OWN WORDS)
November 1, 2008... Administrators are often in a tricky position when considering questions of organizational change. On one hand, administrators may be those best positioned to locate resources, build organizational capacity and get a new initiative off the...

Engage students creatively, thoughtfully for top impact.
November 1, 2008... Blame it on video games and other fast-paced distractions. The short attention span of today's students challenges faculty to devise creative ways to capture and hold their attention... especially in the humanities where "practicality" is not...

Women on the move.
November 1, 2008... * Dr. Debra Beazley moves from chair of business for management programs at Troy University's Augusta campus to academic dean at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions UT. * Dr. Susan Biro moves from dean of Online at Berkeley...

Tips on how to write your book.
November 1, 2008... Academics just have to write. Some of us must write because a passion to put words on paper seems built into our DNA. Many need to write because there's something we yearn to share with the world. Most are compelled to write to pursue...

Gypsy journalism at the October conferences.(THE LAST LAUGH)
November 1, 2008... Only two months are popular times of the year to hold academic conferences--unless they're in a tropical climate--October and March. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] So of course my two favorite conferences now occur on Columbus Day weekend,...