Discusses how colleges are doing more to help academic couples, providing jobs for spouses of new hires as a way to make employment offers more attractive. A growing number of professors, however, say that the practice has gone too far and is unfair. (EV)

Scholars disagree about the relative importance of racism and economic inequality, but there's a consensus that both are significant and worthy of study. And much work is devoted to the question of when race matters and when it does not. Michaels recognizes that most poor kids, given their lack of resources, are not adequately prepared to succeed…

Nearly 10 years ago, the author wrote an essay for "The Chronicle" on the underrepresentation of Asian-Americans in academic leadership, especially in institutions and disciplines that have a high percentage of students and faculty members of Asian or Pacific Island ancestry. There have been changes over the past 10 years, but not so much for…

Japan's higher-education system is the second largest in the world, after the United States, but it fares much worse than the United States when it comes to gender equity. Just 7 percent of Japan's 750-odd colleges and universities are run by women, compared with 23 percent of those in the United States. While four out of the eight members of the…

A few days before President Bush officially released his 2008 budget, administration officials announced that it would contain a historic increase in the maximum Pell Grant. The increase in Pell Grants would be paid for by cutting subsidies for student loans, a step that experts predicted could induce lenders to offer fewer benefits to borrowers.…

Proponents of "diversity hiring" insist that faculty members of color have a different perspective on issues of race and ethnicity that will increase students' understanding of the multiracial, multicultural world they will inhabit in the 21st century. The mere presence of "diverse" faculty members will prepare students for workplace realities,…

Profiles an economist, a literary scholar, a bioinformatics researcher, and an expert on Islam who found good jobs in a tight academic market. (EV)

Discusses how the job market for scholars of Islamic history, culture, and languages has never been better. (EV)

This article talks about the plan of Bush's administration to end the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program and focus on the broader goal with increased access to college for underrepresented groups and not spend their time protecting inefficient programs. During the annual meeting of the American Council on Education, the new under…

Leaders in higher education in the US are seeking to make the nation's most selective colleges and universities more accessible to low-income students, but few realize that a good part of the solution lies within community colleges. Highly selective institutions overlook the fact that reaching more deeply into graduating two-year classes will…

At Texas A&M University and the University of South Florida recent changes have limited some benefits of tenure. While these changes do not yet reflect a trend, some experts note that universities should deal with troublesome faculty members individually rather than by establishing rules eroding tenure for all. (SLD)

Discusses how faculty job openings at community colleges are on the rise at the same time higher education faces budget constraints, but that recruits must be mindful of such schools' missions. (EV)

Scholars studying proportions of men and women in various occupations are undecided over whether trends are good or bad for women seeking equality of work and pay, worrying that women's gains may be overstated and may diminish awareness of the problem among women, awareness necessary to make further gains. (MSE)

Recruiting programs aimed at the spouses of potential faculty members are becoming more common at universities and colleges. Among the reasons most frequently cited for this phenomenon are: there are more dual-career couples; more women are attending graduate school, raising the likelihood of academic marriages; and competition for faculty. (MLW)

Describes how this year's business-school graduates are settling for second-choice jobs, if they find work at all. (EV)