Discusses how chemistry departments at three campuses of the University of California (Berkeley, Davis, and Irvine) and at the University of Michigan have fared during the years of lean budgets. Indicates that these universities are helped by healthy research funding, academic strengths, service roles, and selective budget cuts. (JN)

Relates the impressions of science education gained by a physics professor visiting the People's Republic of China. Observations from two universities in Beijing and Wuhan provide information regarding departmental organization, general teacher preparation, preuniversity education, science teacher preparation, specific physics departments, applied…

This article reviews the status of funding of the Department of Defense, presently and in earlier years. A discussion is presented on the increased emphasis towards supporting university research. (SA)

The roles played by veterinary science departments are creditable and important, says this head of a department of veterinary science. Those roles will reflect an absolute increase in participation with veterinary schools on a regional and national basis, and a relative increase in direct involvement in veterinary education. (LBH)

Presents strategic planning designed to help academic institutions. Describes five key elements: situation analysis; mission statement; objectives; creating strategies; and tactics. Discusses the implementation, benefits, and side-effects of strategic planning. (YP)

Describes how the Career Management Series was conceived and developed at the Center for Particle Astrophysics at the University of California at Berkeley, demystifying the job search, differentiating between process and skills, and looking at both the academic and nonacademic track. Describes how this model was then successfully adapted to the…

Describes valuable aspects for the author of a career management workshop which emphasized a broad career horizon that included nonacademic career opportunities. Discusses her own and other people's pursuit of work and career to emphasize that it is both possible and urgent for people in English departments to change how they think about future…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics has been collecting Enrollment and Degree data for over four decades. This departmental census goes out in the fall of each year to all physics and astronomy departments in the US and Puerto Rico. This report is based on data collected in the fall of 2005 from the 764 departments…

This case study explored the perspectives regarding graduate dissertation supervision held by professors and graduate students in a university science department. Expectations and personal relationships within the graduate dissertation supervision process are discussed in order to establish better supervision practice in a climate of expanding…

New technologies of communication and information representation have almost always had an impact on the conduct of social and organizational life, sometimes creating new linkages, strengthening some existing ones and breaking others. Science operates within a technological environment which itself is a product of social, cultural, economic and…

Current data on graduate student support and manpower resources in graduate science education are important to science administrators, educators, and others concerned with the education of highly qualified scientists and engineers and other related manpower issues. They are also of interest to prospective graduate students, vocational counselors,…

Describes the background of schemes to rationalize earth science departments in the United Kingdom. Discusses the rationale of these schemes and the controversy they have caused in the academic community. (CW)

Highlights an American Chemical Society (ACS) survey of 103 chemistry departments on their instrumentation needs. The 2-year study affirms that instruments used for chemical research and education are becoming outdated because of their age and changes in technology. The survey also reveals how departments plan to use newly acquired instruments.…

Describes the University of Kansas chemistry department's safety program. Comprehensive regulation, undergraduate regulations, safety equipment, handling accidents, inspections, and training are addressed. (JN)