In the Innovation Statement late last year, the federal government indicated a strong belief that more collaboration should occur between industry and university researchers. At the same time, government, education and industry groupings have made numerous recommendations for the “impact” of university research to be assessed alongside or in addition to the existing assessment of […] … learn more→

A lot of young (and old) researchers are worried about being “scooped”. No, this is not about something unpleasantly kinky, but about when some other lab publishes an experiment that is very similar to yours before you do. Sometimes this is even more than just a worry and it actually happens. I know that this […] … learn more→

“You don’t understand science!” –I’ve tried to explain to friends that much of the “global warming” movement doesn’t follow normal scientific principles, and several times I’ve received this response. I know tenure is much maligned in the public eye, and I openly acknowledge “job for life” has real potential for abuse…I feel such concerns are […] … learn more→

Lupe Sanchez and Jacqueline Delgadillo have a lot in common Both were born in Mexico and were brought across the border into the United States as small children, without documents. Both did well in American public schools. And both were given at least temporary protection from deportation under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood […] … learn more→

Anyone who has received a college financial aid award letter knows how complicated and opaque America’s system of higher education finance is. Policymakers also have limited information about how the myriad sources of college financing all fit together — and how they have changed over time. There are, of course, well-known analysis and reports that […] … learn more→

In Chicago there’s a sports talk radio station with a couple of afternoon hosts who insist that their callers think critically about the topic at hand. When Patrick Kane, the Chicago Blackhawks hockey star, was accused of sexual assault, callers would try to talk about the case with references to their beloved “Kaner.” The hosts […] … learn more→

Social media has changed the world by connecting people more easily than ever before. The marketing industry has also been changed immensely by the introduction of social media marketing. It has become much easier to reach reaching the desired demographic than it ever was with any other type of content marketing, especially with the introduction […] … learn more→

The study of theater has always been a slightly odd fit with higher education. Theater’s departmental needs are so different from the norm: Where other programs require smart classrooms, desks, and Wi-Fi, we seek vast, empty spaces with sprung wood floors and natural light. The inner life of a chemistry major should not affect the […] … learn more→

I focus on higher education, but it’s a simple fact that what goes on in the public (more accurately, government) schools before college has a major influence in what happens in college. There are many reasons 90% of the coursework in community colleges isn’t college work, is generally 9th grade or lower material, but the […] … learn more→

In the past week you’ve probably eaten crops that wouldn’t exist in nature, or that have evolved extra genes to reach freakish sizes. You’ve probably eaten “cloned” food and you may have even eaten plants whose ancestors were once deliberately blasted with radiation. And you could have bought all this without leaving the “organic” section […] … learn more→