By Colleen Flaherty. The University of Pittsburgh plans to investigate the climate in its communications department after a former professor wrote an essay alleging sexual harassment and hostility by colleagues. More...
Pitt to Investigate Alleged Culture of Harassment
Institutional Impacts of Non-Tenure-Track Hiring
By Colleen Flaherty. A new TIAA analysis of 12 years of federal and other data from 1,200 institutions finds that increased hiring of professors off the tenure track has had no significant effect on enrollment. More...
NLRB Certifies Columbia Grad Assistant Union Election
By Colleen Flaherty. The National Labor Relations Board certified the election results for Columbia University’s new graduate assistant union this month, despite the institution’s challenge to the validity of last year's vote. Columbia argued that there were inconsistencies in voter identification procedures during the election, but the board in its two-to-one member decision said any confusion affected four votes at most — far less than the 979 vote margin of approval for the United Autoworkers-affiliated union. More...
Where the Grass Is Greener
By Colleen Flaherty. Study finds humanities and social science Ph.D.s working outside academe are happier than their tenure-track peers, even if "alt-ac" careers weren't their first choice.
With the dearth of available tenure-track faculty positions, professional organizations and others are working to change how Ph.D. programs prepare students for the careers they’re likely to have outside academe. In good news for those efforts, a new study of some 5,000 humanities and social sciences Ph.D.s finds that those working in nonprofits are more satisfied with their jobs than are their peers in tenure-track faculty positions. That’s true even for Ph.D.s who intended to work in academe but did not end up there. More...
Sweet Briar's Curriculum Comes at a Cost
By Rick Seltzer. Small private women's college is cutting more than 10 percent of its faculty as it overhauls curriculum. More...
Eluding the Endowment Tax
By Rick Seltzer. Despite unknowns, colleges and universities are looking at investment and spending strategies to dodge a new tax on net investment earnings. More...
Student Debt in the City
By Rick Seltzer. Residents in poor parts of New York City tend to have less student debt but more trouble paying it off, providing a window into how national trends play out at the local level. More...
Gender Equity Targets Missed
Trading Places
Susan West Engelkemeyer sees walking a day in a student's shoes as part of her continuing education as a college president. More...
Getting Into the Room Where It Happens
Craig Weidemann and Marie A. Cini provide some strategies and tactics for gaining a seat at the decision-making table. More...