In This Issue Current Issue Archives

June 2004

June 1, 2004 full issue in PDF format

Encouraging Science Teaching Innovation
There is a common view in many science disciplines that professors can be good at either teaching or research, but not both. And some faculty are concerned that being viewed publicly as being involved in improving science teaching will harm their research reputations. Although progress has been slow, published pedagogical research by Nobel Prize winners and National Academy of Science members and support from prestigious science organizations is helping to reform science education.

Learning Communities for Commuter Students
Many campuses host first-year learning communities for their residential students -- but what about their commuter students? A learning community piloted at Wilkes University in fall 2003 shows that commuter students indeed benefit from such programming.

Students Provide Insights on Faculty Hiring Decisions
Perhaps the best way to determine how a faculty candidate will interact with students is to involve students in the interviewing process.

Helping Faculty Achieve a Work/Life Balance
In 2000, The Ohio State University created the President’s Council on Women’s Issues to advocate policies and practices that positively impact all women at OSU. One of the council’s goals has been to retain female faculty members by providing information for and about women, giving women opportunities to connect with each other, and finding ways to affect policies both at the institutional and departmental levels.

Bulletin Board
Taking Responsibility for the Quality of the Baccalaureate Degree; Learning Communities Conference; The Future of Higher Education; Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Books; Keeping our Faculties III: Recruiting, Retaining and Advancing Faculty of Color

AAU Report Recommends Greater Emphasis on Humanities
A new report by the Association of American Universities calls on university administrators to make a concerted effort to integrate the humanities into institutional strategic planning and emphasize the fundamental importance of the humanities.

Faculty Bonuses for Bringing in Grants: Rewarding Faculty in Times of Tight Budgets
The University of Arkansas-Fayetteville has implemented a faculty incentive plan that gives cash bonuses to faculty who secure salary for themselves as part of external research grants.