Quick Takes
Wisconsin-Madison Gets Approval for Tuition Plan
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Friday approved a plan to raise tuition at the flagship campus at Madison by substantial amounts, but to designate those funds for spending -- such as additional faculty slots -- that directly improves undergraduate education. Biddy Martin, the new chancellor at Madison, championed the plan -- and won student support for it -- by noting the many ways that inadequate state funding has hurt the student experience. For example, she noted that the university has lost faculty slots, and that students are turned away regularly from key courses they need for their majors. Students from families with incomes up to $80,000 will be exempt from the tuition surcharge. Following the board vote, Martin issued a statement that said in part: "We pledge to deliver value. We'll do this by providing more faculty and instructional support in high-demand areas, classroom innovations and better student-support services."
College Covers Up Controversial Painting
Officials at Shasta College places white poster board over a student's painting in an art exhibit, allowing those at the exhibit to lift up the board to view the painting, but hiding it from the view of those who don't take that step, The Redding Record Searchlight reported. The painting at the California college shows two young children, in the style of the Dick and Jane books, greeting a man in a bathrobe, which is open, exposing him in an aroused state. The student who painted the work, "See It Go," said that it was a response to sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
U.S. Weighs New Rules on Research Conflicts
The National Institutes of Health on Friday said it was considering issuing new regulations to govern financial and other conflicts of interest in biomedical research and invited interested parties to weigh in on a set of possible changes. In an advance notice of proposed rule making published in Friday's Federal Register, the NIH and its parent agencies, the Public Health Service and the Department of Health and Human Services, posed a set of questions that have emerged in recent years as biomedical researchers' ties to industry have come under increasing scrutiny. Should researchers have to report more information about their sources of income to the institutions, even if they do not believe it is germane to their work? Should the minimum threshold of payment that is perceived to be a financial conflict of interest be raised? Should research institutions be required to establish committees to review their employees' financial disclosures?
Wyoming Poetry Professor Believed to Have Died in Japan
Craig Arnold, an award-winning poet and professor at the University of Wyoming, is believed to have died on a Japanese island. Arnold, who was fascinated by and wrote about volcanoes, set off on a hike on April 27 and never returned, prompting extensive search efforts. Poets and English professors at many campuses have been following the situation, and hoping for his safe return. A search group reported that he appeared to have fallen from a cliff from which there would have been no possibility of survival.
Georgia Prof, Wanted in Shootings, Found Dead
George Zinkhan, a University of Georgia professor wanted in the murders of his wife and two others in a shooting that stunned Athens, Georgia, was found dead on Saturday. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Zinkhan apparently dug his own grave in a wooded area, covered himself up, and then fired a single bullet into his own head. University of Georgia statements on the incident may be found here.
U. of Rochester Salutes Mothers
The University of Rochester devoted the home page of its Web site this weekend (continuing today) to a Mother's Day salute. One hundred students posed with notes for their mothers. Each time the page is reloaded a different student appears. A similar approach is planned for commencement weekend.
British Higher Ed Found to Lack Policies on Prostitution
Two British academics have conducted a survey of colleges and universities in the country, finding that few of them have policies barring students or faculty members from working in the sex industry, The Times Higher reported. At the same time, many colleges have "unwritten assumptions" discouraging such out-of-class employment. In a related article, the newspaper reported about discussion of a blog called Diary of a Russell Group University Call Girl. (The Russell Group is the organization of Britain's leading research universities.)
