Attendance is down at many academic and professional conferences in higher education this year, and next year's numbers are expected to be far worse, as campus budgets take further beatings. With many colleges limiting travel to professors or administrators who are speaking at events they are attending, will anyone be left in the audience? A new…

An administration plan to discontinue the physics major at James Madison University (Virginia) has raised concerns about the president's leadership and management style, and the role of faculty in institutional decision making. Faculty were notified of the plan only after student leaders were told. (MSE)

Experiences of the 1970s and prospects for the 1980s of colleges that had undergone enrollment decline and/or financial cutbacks were surveyed, based on visits to 20 colleges and universities in 11 states in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Some of the strategies to resist and overcome decline have potential for success in a wide range of…

In 1983, the Texas Board of Regents charged Prairie View A and M to become nationally renowned. The lack of high caliber students because of confused messages about courses (university vs. vocational/technical school), sub-standard library, and neglected campus buildings is discussed, and the creation of an honors college within is described. (MLW)