Blogs

A friend of mine has pointed out repeatedly that, while Environmental Studies graduates can talk about the environment, Environmental Science graduates can actually do something. (Of course, the guy's an Environmental Science professor. No surprise, there.)

In the last few weeks there have been several big announcements about digital textbooks: Microsoft's investment in Barnes & Noble's spinout of its NOOK and college bookstore divisions, for example, and news today that Inkling is partnering with Follett, which runs some 900 college bookstores. Will we see a "format war" between publishers and hardware makers over control of the higher ed textbook market?

Apparently, Pennsylvania is considering moving to a voucher system for public higher education. The idea is to zero out the direct funding for colleges and universities, and to replace it with money to students. Colleges’ funding will become a direct function of enrollment.

Do foreign institutions complement or compete with existing public institutions in the host country, or even weaken the latter because of its ability to attract better qualified staff and students? Does it create a greater social divide between the rich who can pay high fees and the poor who cannot? Is the operation a purely commercial one, with little regard to quality or accreditation, especially as in many instances the host country may not have a quality assurance agency? Does it pose a threat to the cultural values of the host county? All these are issues of global responsibility that challenge higher education institutions in their delivery of cross-border education.

It's summer in academia. Doesn't meant we get to take much time off.

What would Detroit look like today if the University of Michigan had not moved from the city (after the university's founding in 1817) to Ann Arbor in 1837? Imagine what U of M's $8 billion endowment and 40,000 students would mean to the city today?

I took a few weeks off from blogging in order to participate in some end-of-semester faculty development, finish my grading, and otherwise wrap up the school year. So what did I miss? Naomi Schafer Riley blogged irresponsibly, sparked a call for a boycott, apologized weakly, and lost her blogging gig, all in the time I was away from the blogosphere. (See the first paragraph of Liana Silva’s recent post for the details—and read the rest for her smart thoughts on why minority scholars’ voices need to be heard.) There was an election in France. Some more pseudo-mommy-wars seem to have flamed up. And Maurice Sendak died.

Some new reading on the complex, surprisingly little understood, and much debated topic of 'internationalization' was published today by NAFSA. To access a PDF of this free 26 pp. report, written by Madeleine F. Green, click on the cover page image below.