New rules are coming for sanitizing conflicts of interest in research financed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dispenser of the government's biggest budget for civilian science, some $31 billion this year. The conflicted need not fear. The draft rules, soon to be made final, continue the NIH's longtime practice of trust but don't…

Librarians and scholars who seek to counter the rampant commercialism and consolidation that endanger equal and affordable access to knowledge can learn from the recent successful effort to pass health-care reform. Organizations with a commanding presence in an industry naturally seek to institutionalize their indispensability. They finance…

New federal rules ("don't ask, don't tell") about service of gays and lesbians in the military services have implications for college faculty and counselors. The regulations make a number of educational, personal, and social activities risky, including seeking counseling or medical assistance and speaking from a personal viewpoint in…

On June 30, the Bush administration imposed new regulations sharply curtailing already-limited travel to Cuba. A New York Times article published on June 24 characterized the regulations as "part of a broader plan that President Bush announced last month to be tougher on President Fidel Castro and speed a transition to democracy in Cuba.…

Provisions of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1992 concerning accreditation provide a clear message to the higher education community that the public has serious questions about the quality of higher education. Confidence can be restored by increasing public involvement in accreditation and by informing it of higher education's…

The American Association of University Professors' Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure reports on potential problems and concerns in government regulation of research opportunities, methods, and use of research results. Federal actions, campus responses to these actions, and the relationship of academic freedom and national security are…

Although a casual analysis might suggest that a faculty member cannot afford a two-term sabbatical leave, factors affecting income loss from sabbaticals have changed. These include an increase in the number of two-income households, general increases in salary levels, and substantial revisions in federal tax law. Income loss from sabbaticals,…

The effects of government restraints on the process of free interaction between scientists is discussed. The careless application of export control laws to the transfer of information is described. Applicable statutes include: the Atomic Energy Act, the Invention Secrecy Act, the Arms Export Control Act, etc. (MLW)