The work of college faculty is typically assessed in isolation, not within the broader context of the collective task of the department, college, or university. It is time to reverse the telescope to view individuals as part of the departmental or collegial unit and to assess the extent to which their work contributes to collective needs and…

This article discusses how university faculty can cooperate with public broadcasting agencies (radio and television) to provide public media exposure to arts performances and activities. It describes specific successful programs at Ball State University (Indiana). (JB)

Faculty evaluation and reward definitions should include an expanded definition of scholarly teaching and service. Community college faculty, who focus on teaching, should participate in the public discussion of faculty roles to shape its outcome, to strengthen ties with four-year institutions, and to clarify their own role. (JB)

A study at an urban university found that, while type of child care used by classified staff was not a significant predictor of absenteeism, care by nonrelatives was associated with significantly more absences than was care by relatives. However, satisfaction with care was a significant predictor of absenteeism. (MSE)

The gap between the daily life of the urban college student and urban faculty member has widened considerably; the two groups tend to come from different cultures. The situation potentially compromises teaching effectiveness. Activities to promote better faculty understanding of students and develop curricula building on student strengths are…

The Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois, Chicago is a high-visibility urban-policy research center that is sometimes drawn into controversial issues. University leadership must defend academic freedom vigorously, but that freedom cannot be used indiscriminately for faculty pronouncements; faculty and administrators must ensure…

For 27 years the Florida Atlantic University Florida International University Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems has made major contributions to issues associated with rapid urbanization in southern Florida. Maintaining political support, both in the community and within the two universities, has been crucial to sustaining…

Students in teacher-education programs can benefit from the experience of working in a multiagency, urban school collaboration site. A case study of one site is presented in which students learn about the diversity of urban schools while completing a service-learning project connected to an educational-psychology class. (Author/MMU)

Describes how Marygrove College, an "Implementing Urban Missions" grantee, partnered with the Detroit Public Schools to design an innovative program called "Marygrove Griots" that prepares mid-career African American men from other professions to become teachers. (EV)

The feminist phase theory (Tetreault, 1985) was used to examine the cultural patterns embedded in a department of a large, urban university, to classify how the faculty in the department perceived women, and to examine how our own behavior as two newly hired associate and assistant professors contributed or did not contribute to these patterns of…

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) sits on the border of Mexico and the United States in the middle of the world's largest binational metropolitan region. For years, it struggled to compete with top-tier research institutions with far greater resources in a quest to become "Harvard on the Border." In the late 1980s, new president…

This study examined the importance of community service at 45 colleges and universities in urbanized areas of Ohio. A survey of the institutions' chief academic officers examined three dimensions: (1) amount of attention policymaking bodies give to community service; (2) community service's place in the curriculum and faculty work; and (3) the…

At the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), an urban university, students drop out of college on a regular basis. Developing a community of linked courses appears to be an effective way of reaching the university's goal of helping students stay in school past the critical first semester when many of them tend to leave. Seeking to help…

A study involving 97 students (79 females and 18 males) at New York City Technical College was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of desensitization in reducing test anxiety and improving grade point averages (GPAs). The study compared the GPAs of students who completed workshops using the desensitization hierarchy developed by R. Strieby…

Urban universities are often characterized as economic engines--directly and indirectly serving the needs of the communities within which they are situated. However, the relationship between urban universities and their neighbors is often strained. Reflecting on the University of Illinois at Chicago's Neighborhoods Initiative (UICNI) and its…