The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Traditional College Summer Semester Is In Jeopardy For California's Public Institutions

Johnnica Hababag planned to take two classes this summer so she could transfer from Los Angeles Valley College to a four-year school. But those plans were upended when she learned that the community college had all but canceled its summer session because of budget cuts. She is one of thousands of students up and down the state shut out of classes this summer as funding cuts force many of California's public colleges to cancel or severely reduce offerings. Summer school has traditionally provided an outlet for students to help speed progress toward a degree or to transfer — or just to stay on track. But budget reductions this year have forced many public colleges to shift priorities. Read more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-college-summer-20120527,0,5544208.story

Investigation Questions If Dartmouth's Trustees Enriched Themselves

New Hampshire's attorney general is looking into claims of conflicts of interest against members of the board of trustees and the investment committee of Dartmouth College in regard to their management of the college's $3.4 billion endowment. A group of Dartmouth faculty members, university employees and alumni — none of whom has come forward publicly — sent the letter earlier this year, but its contents only recently became public when it was posted on an unofficial university blog. The letter accuses the money managers of “enriching themselves” through private equity, venture capital and hedge fund investments made by the endowment. Read more at:
http://www.pionline.com/article/20120528/PRINTSUB/305289979/dartmouth-board-members-are-accused-of-enriching-own-firms

Wesleyan University President Explains Why A Three-Year Option Is Needed

As I prepare for my commencement speech this year, I remember vividly when I first realized that I could graduate college in three years rather than four. But I realized that graduating in three years would save my family lots of money. We will also make more visible -- and provide more support for -- the “three year” route that I chose in the mid 1970s. Again, by no means is the three-year option for everyone. But if we can offer families the same quality undergraduate degree at a significantly reduced total price – and I think we can – why not do it? Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/wesleyan-president-a-degree-in-three-marvelous-years/2012/05/23/gJQANAIIlU_blog.html

More IHEs Choosing STEM Professors As Their Provosts

Iowa’s universities are not alone in looking to administrators with STEM backgrounds to lead their academic efforts. The same week ISU named Wickert provost, the University of Illinois named its College of Engineering dean to the same job. Leading research universities like Iowa, Iowa State and Illinois — those that belong to the prestigious 61-member Association of American Universities — have selected 23 provosts since 2010, according to a Des Moines Register review of university websites. Of those, only five had backgrounds outside of STEM fields.Read more at:
http://www.indystar.com/article/D2/20120520/NEWS02/305200033/More-universities-pick-engineers-provosts-including-ISU-U-I?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Pay For Public University Presidents Grew Modestly Last Year

Three chief executives of public colleges earned more than $1 million in total compensation during the 2010-11 academic year, according to a survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The median total compensation of the 199 public college presidents surveyed was $421,395, up 2.9 percent from 2009-10, the survey found, while the median base pay, $383,800, increased 1.3 percent. With state financing for public universities dwindling, executive pay has become a volatile issue in some states. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/education/median-compensation-for-public-college-heads-grew-3-in-2010-11.html?_r=1

Televising Academic Programs Turned Out To Be A Bad Idea

The Big Ten cable network has been an unchallenged success promoting conference sports to a national audience and making money for its members. The academic programming its leaders had promised hasn't panned out. When the Big Ten Network launched in 2007, officials said it would promote the scholarly work done at its 11 schools. Five years later, the network is running less academic coverage than ever as it generates tens of millions in revenue for the conference and boasts of 51 million subscribers. Citing low ratings and poor production quality, the network and university presidents agreed to slash academic programming and emphasize quality and ratings over quantity. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/articles/2012/05/17/big_ten_network_cuts_academics_citing_low_ratings/ 

 

College President Pays Soars While Students Load Up On Debt

For all the flak Wall Street gets over excessive pay, it's only fair to take a closer look at compensation at America's universities. There's plenty of dispute about why college costs so much today. But one important factor is being overlooked: Pay packages at the top. While students languish in debt, many university presidents enjoy lofty paychecks. Since 1991, salaries of university presidents at at public and private universities have roughly doubled. Read more at:
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/16/university-pay/

More College Presidents Are Coming From Outside Of Academia

Michael Alexander has heard it all before: People with business backgrounds do not understand academia and are ill-equipped to lead colleges and universities. He has a ready rejoinder to such talk: “Balderdash.’’ A growing number of colleges seem to share his faith in the value of outsider presidents, PhD or no PhD. Twenty percent of college presidents in the United States now come from fields outside academia, a sharp increase from 13 percent just six years ago. Many believe the trend is a symptom of the increasing corporatization of higher education, as colleges, especially smaller ones with lackluster or limited endowments, struggle to steady their finances and attract students willing and able to pay high tuition. Read more at:
http://articles.boston.com/2012-05-14/metro/31690571_1_college-presidents-colleges-and-universities-academia

College Presidents Confront The Reality That They Need A New Business Model

At a time of diminished state funding for higher education and uncertain federal dollars, Mr. Gee says that public colleges and universities need to devise a new business model to pay for the costs of education, beyond sticking students with higher tuition and greater debt. “The notion that universities can do business the very same way has to stop,” said Mr. Gee. College presidents across the country are confronting the same realization, trying to manage their institutions with fewer state dollars without sacrificing quality or all-important academic rankings. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/business/colleges-begin-to-confront-higher-costs-and-students-debt.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 

 

How Much Should It Cost For A University President To Travel

Ohio State University has spent at least $844,000 on President E. Gordon Gee’s travel since 2007, including more than $550,000 in the last two years. The travel costs far exceeded what Ohio’s two governors during that time spent, and was about three times the amount spent by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, who holds a comparable position to Gee. Ohio State officials noted that unrestricted endowment funds — and not tuition or tax money — cover the costs. Read more at:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/osu-president-gees-travel-bill-tops-800k-1371154.html