The dissertation adviser's task may be to give advice, but his or her approval is required for the thesis to pass and the degree to be awarded. It is the graduate student's dissertation, but the imprimatur belongs to the dissertation adviser, so perhaps the process belongs to both of them. But that equation leaves out some other important actors,…

Censored papers on bird flu, which could help terrorists, have critics wondering if academic scientists can police their own work. The near-publication has brought out general critics of the federal panel, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, and the voluntary self-policing approach that it embraces instead of regulation. Members…

The first code of ethics by the American Anthropological Association, adopted in 1971, was forged during the Vietnam War, years after revelations that anthropologists had engaged in counterinsurgency research in Southeast Asia. Now, in response to issues raised by the war in Iraq, the author advocates that it is time for a new code. Members of the…

Community colleges serve a large proportion of low-income students each year, but nearly 40 percent of their full-time students don't even fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students offer a number of reasons for not making the effort, according to a report, "Apply to Succeed: Ensuring Community College Students Benefit From…

Even by the standards of higher education, presidential search committees are odd concoctions, combining the dynamics of the governing board, the faculty, the administration and staff, and the students in an environment that is, at best, unusual and, at worst, adversarial. Ultimately, however, that committee's work is vital to the future of the…

Southern Methodist University has released the terms of its agreement with the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation to house the president's official library and museum. To some faculty members, the most troubling element of the project is a conservative policy institute that will be affiliated with the library and museum. Unlike similar…

Women are expected to own half the wealth in the United States by 2010. They also account for 58 percent of undergraduates at colleges today. Those statistics should loom large for higher-education fund raisers at a time when almost every institution is either in the middle of its largest fund-raising campaign ever or planning to announce one. But…

An expanding investigation into conflicts of interest in the student-loan industry continued to sweep up more lenders and college financial-aid administrators last week. The nation's largest student-loan provider, Sallie Mae, accepted a $2-million settlement with New York State's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, and three more college officials…

This article presents the report of an advisory board suggesting that India must increase its number of universities to 1,500 by 2015. According to the report from the National Knowledge Commission, the suggested growth is necessary to to raise the proportion of Indian 18- to 24-year-olds entering higher education to at least 15 percent, up from…

In a recent Internet discussion among academic deans, the topic was whether departments and other academic units should create external advisory boards. The dean who raised the issue asked his colleagues whether they maintained boards, if they were genuinely beneficial, and what the ideal board would look like. Some administrators are only now…

In the 1990s, the giant mining company now known as BHP Billiton drew worldwide condemnation for the environmental damage caused by its copper and gold mine in Papua, New Guinea. Its mining practices destroyed the way of life of thousands of farming and fishing families who lived along and subsisted on the rivers polluted by the mine, and it was…

Discusses how college presidents who were asked by the Knight commission to suggest changes in athletics programs founds themselves caught between forces focused on winning and on academics. (EV)

Reports that many new technology companies are recruiting top academics to join their boards in an effort to gain credibility and capture the higher education market. Finds controversy between those who wish to influence the direction of those businesses in order to better serve college constituencies and those who see possibilities for conflicts…

The NCAA's commitment to reforming college sports and the continued effectiveness of the presidents' panel are discussed. Studies of several controversial issues including freshman eligibility, the size of coaching staffs, recruiting limits, and academic records of athletes were initiated by the NCAA at its national forum. (MLW)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's presidents' commission, viewed initially as a limited-authority advisory panel, has taken a dramatic leadership role in keeping the management of intercollegiate athletics within the institutions and facing the challenge of irresponsible outside interests. (MSE)