A few weeks ago I stumbled across this essay by Amy Boesky in The Kenyon Review that reflected on her time ghostwriting for the Sweet Valley High series. What caught my attention was the fact that she wrote for the series throughout her time as a doctoral student (okay, I admit it–I actually started reading […] … learn more→

College professors increasingly complain about the consumer mentality of their students: In exchange for shelling out ever greater amounts of tuition dollars, students expect to be treated to easy A\’s and maximum flexibility in assignments and class attendance. Students should be savvy consumers of higher education—but not in the classroom. Instead, they, and their parents, […] … learn more→

Several incidents recently drew me into the core of my University’s business: students. One was a failed suicide attempt. Last semester, we had one who was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Less tragic were two students known to me who have similarly dropped out of school: one who was a recipient of a food subsidy […] … learn more→

Covertly filming shocking animal abuse in the meat industry (and other industries involving animals) is a common tactic of animal welfare charities such as the Humane Society, Mercy for Animals, Animal Aid, and PETA. The footage is generally obtained by workers for the charities who gain employment at slaughterhouses, farms, laboratories and the like; and […] … learn more→

A major project – Where Rising Powers Meet – looks at life along the border that separates Russia, China and Mongolia. Among the researchers involved is Dr Sayana Namsaraeva whose work focuses on the experiences of the Buriad ethnic group to which she belongs. Every two years thousands of people travel from towns and villages […] … learn more→

Michelle Lee first set foot in Gabon in 2001: \’I went with just a backpack expecting to stay three weeks, but ended up being the project manager there for six years,\’ she tells me. Now a DPhil student at Oxford University\’s WildCRU, working on land-use and conservation planning, back then Michelle gave up her desk […] … learn more→

My academic career has been absurdly idiosyncratic. Fifteen years ago, I accepted a half-time tenure-track position. (Idiosyncrasy No. 1: Some small liberal-arts colleges like mine offer split appointments on the tenure track.) Twelve years ago, I was awarded tenure, and on the exact same day, divorced. (That\’s Idiosyncrasy No. 2, one I wrote about for […] … learn more→

Louisiana is the epicenter of an assault on the university as a community of scholars. The state has become notorious for eroding academic freedom and its foundation in shared governance and tenure. After the rough-shod procedures adopted by New Orleans universities in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, recent tactics continue to evade and undermine long-established […] … learn more→

You can see a steady rise in online learning since past few years. As per the latest 2013 report published by Babson Survey Research Group, around 6.7 million students in 2011 were enrolled in degree programs in comparison to 1.6 million students in 2002. In fact, the idea of online education seems to have become […] … learn more→

As recently as 5,000 years ago, the Sahara — today a vast desert in northern Africa, spanning more than 3.5 million square miles — was a verdant landscape, with sprawling vegetation and numerous lakes. Ancient cave paintings in the region depict hippos in watering holes, and roving herds of elephants and giraffes — a vibrant […] … learn more→