Tenure itself is not the central issue in the debate over faculty tenure; honest faculty evaluation, adequate faculty development, and termination when appropriate are the real issues as are fears that abandonment of the tenure principle would amount to abandonment of the principles of academic freedom and shared governance. (MSE)

Reviews policy issues surrounding decisions by governments to make available or to withhold information from government files that can be linked to identifiable individuals. Outlines the debate over access to public records, identifies policies that impact on disclosure decisions, and discusses options and approaches to address access and privacy…

Provides some of the results of an international survey involving 20,000 faculty members in 14 countries to obtain a comprehensive view of the professoriate. Some of the topics presented are academic freedom, faculty influence on countries' policies, and student level of preparedness. (ZWH)

This article discusses the need to reconcile the rising demand for public accountability with the important historical linkage between liberal education and academic freedom. He urges universities and government to join forces in measuring performance in order to serve functions of accountability and freedom. (DB)

Analyzes lower court decisions citing the 1990 United States Supreme Court "Milkovich" decision to illustrate that earlier Supreme Court decisions continue to provide constitutional protection for most newspaper articles, editorial commentary, and other forms of opinionated speech. Shows that most libel cases involving opinion since…

Many college faculty and students are upset by a Senate measure limiting obscenity on the Internet, feeling it would damage the network and infringe on free speech rights. The current measure seeks to punish individuals distributing items deemed offensive, but generally protects system operators. (MSE)

Describes a library youth participation group's creation and production of a controversial play about censorship and the freedom to read. Discussion includes performance cancellations by middle schools, news coverage, book talks, videotaping, a paper chain parade, and an intellectual freedom award. (AEF)

Describes the evolutionary process of the State of Arkansas' Student Publications Act which goes into effect 1 January, 1996. Explains that the draft form of the Act emphasized the importance of recognizing students' right of free expression and stressed the importance of journalistic responsibility and high standards for academic advisors.…

Examines the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics and considers possible reforms. Topics discussed include distinctions between professional and nonprofessional occupations; other professions' codes of ethics; the code of the AAUP (American Association of University Professors) as a model; hierarchical corporate models; intellectual…

This essay examines the idea of intellectual authority as reflected in legal and literary theory and reviews empirical studies of effects of institutional authority on acceptance/rejection of papers by juried journals. It refutes ideas of Stanley Fish that an author's background (his/her "institutional authority") are relevant in evaluating the…

"Politically correct" outlooks are to be neither wholly accepted nor wholly rejected; they are to be learned from. The self-scrutiny bred by concern about political correctness is an important part of the university tradition; and without it, colleges could not experience their current growing diversity. (MSE)

Among 116 Chinese students surveyed at the University of Wisconsin, political attitudes about the Chinese Communist party, ideology, recent party and Chinese-government actions, democracy, and intellectual freedom were related to age and time spent reading the "New York Times" but not to years spent in the United States. (SV)

Argues that the participation of the business community can supply expertise and financial support through investment and commercial services as the National Research and Education Network (NREN) and the resulting sophisticated and expensive technology develop. Describes the function of the National Science Foundation's backbone network service,…

Takes issues with Gregory Hauser's previous article positing a constitutional right of social fraternities to formal recognition at public institutions of higher education. Reanalyzes each of the associational cases cited by Hauser, cites additional cases, adds a waiver argument, and wraps up with a public policy comparison of higher education…

Asserts that Canadian schools should be educating students in the historically developed subjects matters. Suggests that a back-to-basics approach to education fails to appreciate the traditional subject matters as great sagas of human discovery. Concludes that schools are largely anti-intellectual places that are not inquiry driven and do not…