Although the percentage of female authors is still less than women's overall representation within the full-time faculty ranks, researchers found that the proportion has increased as more women have entered the professoriate. They also found that women cluster into certain subfields and are somewhat underrepresented in the prestigious position of…

Several books published by university presses serve no purpose besides credentialing professors, but since the collapse of the US academic job market in the early 1970s, it is mandatory for professors to be published. However, it appears to be time, particularly for the younger academics, to abandon the genteel pose of being aloof from the sordid…

Describes how faculty at one university are furious over a proposal to require them to be in their offices 4 days per week (an unheard-of requirement at research universities). Professors who do less research and writing than their colleagues would be required to do more teaching and service. This would ensure that professors remained productive,…

Presents the section of the full report which addresses the overemphasis on research over teaching by faculty at the university level. Noted are a decline in the number of hours devoted to teaching responsibilities and increased numbers of books and articles published. (DB)

Summarizes the report of Lynne Cheney, chairperson of the National Endowment of the Arts, titled, "Tyrannical Machines: A Report on Educational Practices Gone Wrong and Our Best Hope for Setting Them Right." Noted are gaps in general knowledge, weaknesses of teacher education courses, and university tendencies to value research over teaching. (DB)

Describes the increasing difficulty junior faculty members have in obtaining tenure. The most significant new trend is pressure to publish early and often. The depressed job market in some disciplines is making it easier for universities to demand more, and in some cases the emphasis is shifting from teaching to research and publications. (SLD)

Syracuse University (New York) is working to change the publish-or-perish ethos in higher education through better organized courses, more vigorous teaching evaluation policies, and merit raises and grants for strong teachers. More ambitious changes may follow. The modest plan has become the most comprehensive such effort to date. (MSE)