Economic problems, including the impact of Proposition 13, are reviewed that are affecting federal financial support for basic research. Focus is on political attitudes within Congress and the Carter Administration, including their effect on grants for research at land grant colleges. (LBH)

The role of Fudan University as a key institution in China's overall plan for educational, economic, and technological development is outlined. (MSE)

Changes in undergraduate curriculum are seen to be generated by significant social, political, and cultural forces at work throughout society. After World War II a core curriculum was encouraged, but an imposition of a core curriculum in today's institutions is seen as inappropriate and ineffectual. (MLW)

After Hopwood versus Texas, a court case in which race-conscious university admission was held unconstitutional, colleges failing to reexamine and mend policies may be inviting trouble. Institutions have a responsibility to sustain conversation within and beyond campus communities about affirmative action, looking at the deep differences in values…

The debate over political correctness and cultural diversity in U.S. higher education is examined, and three basic questions are raised: who is to be taught?, what is to be taught?, and who will teach it?. Higher education's contribution to social change is seen to be its ability to discuss issues with openness, candor, and reason. (DB)

Recommendations of commission reports on improving quality in public education are seen as primarily political statements reflecting the public outrage over the declining quality of American schooling. If the recommendations for sharpening basic skills spill over into higher education, there will be pressure to make colleges into trade schools.…

America's nonprofit sector is seen as being in deep trouble. Difficulties include: escalating labor costs, a disinclination on the part of Americans to make charitable gifts, necessity to adjust to major demographic and geographical shifts, and enlarged government operations that have resulted in undercutting the viability of private institutions.…

The performance funding approach mandated by the Texas state legislature and devised by the higher education coordinating board to appropriate resources to colleges and universities is explained, and the responses of institutions to it are discussed. Focus is on problems encountered and lessons learned. (MSE)

It is argued that despite the decline of the humanities in higher education in the 20 years since the National Endowment for the Humanities came into existence, the agency has probably done much to promote the humanities and prevent further decline. (MSE)

The political influences on three decisions of importance to University of Maryland faculty are examined. They are the dismissal of Edgar Beall, a physics teacher; the rejection of Marxist Bertell Ollman to head the government and politics department; and the rehiring, under threat of a budget cut, of the governor's sister, an English instructor.…

Faculty fellowships, designed to foster individual achievement, are in trouble as doubts emerge about individual efficacy in a global environment that requires teamwork and collaboration. They have become politicized, divided by conflicts over criteria. If they are to be renewed, the dominance of research over teaching and service must be…

Issues of equal educational opportunity are seen to be transformed into issues of effectiveness, efficiency, or cultural pluralism. It is suggested that issues of equal educational opportunity are likely to be resolved only by reducing the capacity of the educational system itself to determine the future and the value of individuals. (MLW)

This article examines the issue of "political correctness" on U.S. campuses and suggests that much of the controversy is a creation of the press, has little factual basis, and may be partially a reaction by the press establishment to increased numbers of women and minorities in journalism. (DB)

It is argued that, although assessment of colleges and universities can promote discussion and encourage improvement of college instruction, accountability serves only to further chill the regulatory climate without specifying needs or solutions. As currently conceived, accountability cannot receive widespread faculty support because it usurps…

The current troubles and complications that affect higher education are reflected in the presidential search process. Students, faculty, trustees, and other members of search committees differ on priorities. Three searches are described and suggestions are provided for creating a more effective search. (MLW)