The president and governing board at the College of William and Mary have parted ways in an unusually public split with a deeply partisan undercurrent. Gene R. Nichol says that the Board of Visitors forced him out for defending free speech and diversity on the campus, and that he turned down a generous severance package to go quietly. Board…

Budget seasons have been less uncertain at the University System of Maryland, where leaders have taken a different approach: voluntarily paring back costs. Their efforts are paying off, in more ways than one. The cost-savings plan, dubbed the Effectiveness and Efficiency Initiative, begun in 2004, has saved $94-million so far at the 11-campus…

In this article, the authors provide a description of the academic climate in New Mexico. Like many other places in the world today, New Mexico is trying to find an identity in an environment that the authors label "increasingly privatized, corporatized, and militarized." New Mexico's higher education salaries are lower than those in…

Based on years of observation at a large state university, "Wannabe U" tracks the dispiriting consequences of trading in traditional educational values for loyalty to the market. Aping their boardroom idols, the new corporate administrators at such universities wander from job to job and reductively view the students there as future workers in…

This article reports on the findings of the state panel on the Virginia Tech massacre. A state panel that investigated last spring's massacre at Virginia Tech has issued a harshly worded report that says the university erred in the way it handled a mentally disabled student who became a killer and in how it dealt with the immediate aftermath of…

Faculty sometimes use votes of no confidence as a tool of last resort to express opposition to a college administration. Unfortunately, however, such votes often have limited effect aside from further damaging relations between administrators and faculty. This article describes how a no-confidence vote was averted at Alfred State College (formally…

This compendium of narrative and statistical information is an overview of the Oregon University System (OUS) and is produced every two years. The introduction includes a mission and vision statement, OUS Governance Change Proposal, a listing of OUS campuses and centers, a roster of the members of the State Board of Higher Education, and Access…

Academic institutions mediate online literacy practices in meaningful and significant ways. This essay explores the nature of that mediational process, using a visual-spatial method to map out and conceptualize dynamics and structures that have a bearing on the work of composition. A key argument is that composition teachers are intellectually…

U.S. transportation data suggest that the number of vehicle miles traveled has far surpassed new capacity, resulting in increased traffic congestion in many communities throughout the country. This article reports on traffic congestion around a university campus located within a small town. The mix of trip purposes varies considerably in this…

Californians can earn college degrees or certificates or get job-related training at a variety of institutions both public and private, throughout the state. The variety of institutions, programs, degrees and other educational choices is wide. This Guide will help individuals identify options that suit their needs. This guide is divided into three…

It's not surprising that urban colleges and universities with large commuter populations are among the most racially and ethnically diverse of all U.S. campuses. Many of those campuses have struggled over the years to fully appreciate and accommodate that student diversity by providing adequate academic and social support. That support includes a…

The reputation of UC Merced as a student centered research university rested on administration's success in attracting top-flight faculty. This chapter describes how this process started, through choosing the deans, then recruiting the faculty. As faculty arrived, the academic picture came into focus. Not surprisingly, the initial ideas about …

Hoping to be viewed as an integral part of university decision-making, the University of Arizona's Human Resource Department decided to become a consulting organization rather than a transaction-based entity. The transformation was neither quick nor easy; however, by reinventing its purpose and approach, the Human Resource Department has emerged…

The author describes the past and present developments of Southern Illinois University. (PG)

This document presents the president's report of the progress of the University of Arizona, 1963-1973. Following the president's message, emphasis is placed on a description of the university; a historical description of each of the colleges within the university; the significance and review of university research activities; and the special…