Discusses the increasing numbers of African Americans who are both attending graduate school and planning on academic careers. Suggests that academia will profit in many ways from this trend, noting that African American scholars are resisting labeling, finding arenas of research that resist racial categories, and desire a mandate for…

Faculty jobs have a remarkable degree of freedom compared to other jobs, but they have comparatively low salaries. The income difference between academic employment and employment in corporations, law firms, and medicine causes morale problems in faculties. (MLW)

Faculty members of America's universities and colleges, it is suggested, are finding the real world of academic life increasingly out of tune with the careers they prepared for. Seven faculty members are profiled whose careers illustrate difficulties academics may face at several stages of their lives. (MLW)

Four new books typify the constructive search for ways to improve the quality of undergraduate education. "Achieving Educational Excellence" (Alexander Astin), "Careerism and Intellectualism" (Herant A. Katchadorian et al.), "Increasing Student Retention" (Lee Noel et al.), and "Success in College" (Warren Willingham) are analyzed. (MLW)

A decrease in minorities in the teaching profession is likely to occur at a time when the school-age population will be more than 30% minority. If the decrease continues, young blacks will be deprived of role models and a special caring that is irreplaceable. (MLW)

Higher education faculty outside the schools of education have a great deal at stake when it comes to the quality of schools and school teaching. They are seen as directly responsible for the frequently poor preparation of those entering college. (MLW)

Results of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's study of enrollment trends in veterinary medicine and dentistry are tabulated and analyzed, focusing on applicant pool trends, total enrollment and graduates, male and female representation, and minority group representation. (MSE)

Women, it is suggested, must have a curriculum with images of achievement and aspiration comparable to those of white middle class males. Two goals of women's studies are discussed: to develop a body of scholarship and a new curriculum about women and to transform the "mainstream" curriculum. (MLW)

The characteristics of prospective teachers, their undergraduate years, and their hopes and aspirations are explored. Teacher shortage, the changing role of women, high school achievement, college goals, and what undergraduates feel about their education are discussed. (MLW)

A look at prospective teachers after college graduation is presented including: how many obtain teaching credentials and how many of these actually enter the classroom. Using national data, the demographic and academic characteristics of prospective teachers and the differences among various groups are examined. (MLW)

College costs, methods of payment, and how the pressure to make money may be shaping enrollment patterns are reviewed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. There is some evidence that students who take sizable loans may major in such fields as business, engineering, and allied health, which offer higher salaries. (MLW)