The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

U Of Washington Starts Venture Capital Funds For Research Startups

The Seattle area's newest venture-capital fund has a distinct purple-and-gold tinge. The W Fund, which aims to channel seed money to startups founded on research from theUniversity of Washington and other state universities and institutions, officially launches today after months of behind-the-scenes fundraising. Backers see it as a way to help create new businesses -- and new jobs. Along with a $5 million loan from the state (funded through a federal small-business grant) and $3 million in nonstate funds from the UW, the fund's investment committee has close to $20 million to direct. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-mct-uw-launches-venture-fund-to-spur-startups-20120620,0,4420649.story 

 

Colleges Are Making Questionable New Deals With Financial Institutions

College campuses have long been attractive hunting grounds for financial institutions looking for new customers. In recent years, however, their efforts to woo students have gotten banks and other financial institutions in trouble with regulators.  But many colleges, struggling to offset cuts in state funds and under pressure to keep tuition down, are finding new ways to strike deals with financial institutions, by turning student IDs into debit cards and allowing lenders to take over disbursement of financial aid. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/business/on-campus-new-deals-with-banks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120531

Preparing Study Abroad Students For Risks And Accidents

With the school year winding down, Tufts University administrators met recently with students planning to study abroad, outlining what they should do before they leave and what to expect when they arrive. Above all, they stressed the risks - and ways to minimize them. Accidents can happen anywhere, and young adults are particularly willing to take risks wherever they are. But at a time when international programs are increasingly popular, the accident has put inherent concerns about the safety of overseas students into new perspective. Read more at:
http://articles.boston.com/2012-05-20/metro/31779579_1_study-abroad-programs-international-programs-students-planning

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 Newspapers Are Struggling In Challenging Economic Times

Most of the conditions causing hard times for newspapers in the private sector — declining print advertising revenue and difficulties making the Web a moneymaker — are also affecting student newspapers at colleges and universities throughout the country. Add to the mix the budget-cutting realities that colleges and universities now face, and many journalism schools have entered adapt-or-die mode. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2012-04-22/college-newspapers/54630566/1 

 

Latest Issue Of University Business Now Online

The April 2012 issue of University Business in now available online. This month's issue features the profiles of winners of the "models of efficiency" award. It also has articles on guns on campus, e-procurement, and the mobile web. Find the issue at:
http://www.universitybusiness.com/toc

Botox Treatments Are Good For This University

The University of Colorado has received a $30 million payout for a Botox treatment that one of its faculty members invented in the late 1990s. The treatment, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August, was developed to treat urinary incontinence in people with neurological conditions, such as spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, who have overactive bladders. Since the inventor is no longer at the university, royalties are divided between the university and the tech transfer office. Read more at:
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_20248218/botox-treatment-developed-cu-lab-nets-30-million

No Mystery Meat Found At These Fine Campus Dining Halls

If you are searching for a sumptuous all-you-can-eat extravaganza, head to a college dining hall, a tribute to world cuisine and emerging food trends.Cuban ropa vieja and vegetarian Chinese egg pancakes. Chia seeds and eggs laid by chickens who have never lived in a cage. Kosher or halal. Gluten-free or foods for the lactose-intolerant. Humanely raised meats and local produce. Today’s students are bringing their more sophisticated palates and health-related concerns to campuses and schools are stepping up to accommodate them, hiring restaurant chefs, dieticians and nutritionists to oversee the dining hall operations and customizing each meal to each student’s preference. Read more at:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/11325392-418/campus-dining-halls-offering-world-cuisine-emerging-food-trends.html

Universities Use Their Art Museums To Enhance The Curriculum

When it opens this fall, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University will be the latest in a series of new university art museums that have opened around the country. But here and at other campuses, striking buildings are just a part of the new profile of university art museums. With the help of departments as varied as nursing, law, meteorology and engineering, the museums’ directors are deploying their extensive collections, and sometimes the artists themselves, to enhance curriculums. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/arts/artsspecial/art-museums-augment-some-courses-at-universities.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=education 

 

Startup Success Has Higher Ed Wondering How It Can Capitalize

For all their similarities - visionary student founders, explosive marketshare, tremendous valuations - there is at least one difference that their respective alma matters are likely to take note of as the Facebook IPO grows near. While Stanford netted a $336 Million dollar pay-day from Google's 2004 IPO, Facebook's looming IPO will leave the trustees of Harvard with little more than a cameo in last year's Oscar-nominated film. While university investment in startups outside of technology-transfer is fairly new, college campuses have long been a breeding ground for new businesses. Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-reid/facebook-ipo-universities-startups_b_1329370.html