Defying A Ban
The University of Florida’s reaction to unauthorized travel to Haiti by grad students raises questions of safety and academic freedom.
To the students and their professors, the ban is a threat to their academic and artistic freedom. From the university’s perspective, it’s an issue of liability: The students ignored institutional rules and put themselves in danger.
Britain’s universities are working hard to attract international students. With the g
overnment announcing British Universities are to expect a £950 million cut in funding over the next three years, higher education institutions need to look elsewhere for financial support.
The average non-EU student tuition fees for arts and science undergraduate degrees are around £10,000 per year, and with the potential to reach £20,000 depending on the course and establishment, the financial benefits for cash-strapped UK universities to recruit international students is obvious.
Having a strong online presence is vital. Statistics show that 31.7% of the 338m internet users in China are students. It is likely that students already look to the Internet as their primary source of information on UK universities.
Google High Speed
Since Google announced plans for their experimental, ultra high-speed broadband network, the response from communities and individuals across America has been overwhelming. Communities have renamed themselves, produced creative YouTube videos, organized public rallies and brought together hundreds of grassroots Facebook groups all with the goal of participating in bringing ultra high-speed broadband to their communities. The experimental broadband network would be completely free for the targeted community (only the consumers using the services will be charged) and the 1Gb/sec fiber would be roughly 100 times faster than what most Americans get today. The plan is to reach anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 people with this experiment.
Google says its next steps will be to review the submissions, then conduct site visits and meet with local officials and third-party organizations. Google expects to announce the target community or communities by year end.
Chef Matt Haley
SoDel Concepts, owner and operator of five Delaware beach-area restaurants, Matt Haley, recently headed off for a month-long cultural and food tour of south Asia including India and Nepal.
The owner of five restaurants — Bluecoast in Bethany Beach; Catch 54 in Fenwick Island; Lupe Di Mare in Rehoboth Beach; Northeast Seafood Kitchen in Ocean View; and Fish On! in Lewes — Haley is no stranger to the impossible. In Nepal to visit his two adopted Nepali daughters, Matt braved the majesty of the Himalayas and the mysteries of Kathmandu on his culinary and cultural tour.
“This trip has turned into something way bigger than I thought so far. I can’t describe the food without describing the state of the country, the beauty, the oppression and most of all the smiles. Visiting with my adopted daughters here has been a highlight of my life. I have had an incredible experience with them. Myself, Lila, Laxmi and a group of other children from the school just completed a three-day trek from Lukla in the middle of the Himalayas. It was my first time with a Sherpa. I tried to convince him to come to Rehoboth with me. The girls had a blast. It was their first time on a plane.”
Read more about Matt’s incredible journey here.
Wikipedia
This fun article debates the pros and cons of using Wikipedia, currently the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet, as a professor challenges his students with the question, “does Wikipedia really suck?”.
Check it out!
Fisk / Vanderbilt University Program
In 2008, American universities awarded Ph.D.s in physics to just 12 black U.S. citizens, out of 905 awarded to U.S. citizens of any race that year. As many experts worry about the lack of diversity in the science pipeline, two universities have teamed up to do something about it according to a recent article.
The Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, pioneered by Vanderbilt professor Keivan Stassun, began in the fall of 2004 with five students and has since then seen another 30 students enroll. The program seeks to boost doctorate degrees from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
The breakthrough program is getting the attention of congress — and was discussed at a Congressional hearing this month — as an example of how minority-serving institutions and top research universities can work together.
Wal Mart Goes Green
Inside Higher Education has a small piece that notes Walmart’s new SEEP Program and its potential cost-saving impact for small and mid-sized schools . SEEP, which stands for Supplier Energy Efficiency Project, helps suppliers identify projects that can help save energy and money thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. The program stems from Walmart’s own experiences with energy efficiency in its stores and buildings. SEEP, which now has been opened up to non-suppliers, has the potential to offer schools access to energy-efficient technologies at the same price that Walmart pays with minimal disruption to operations.
The Walt Disney Family Museum
The Walt Disney Family Museum, located in the The Presidio of San Francisco, features the art and legacy of Walt Disney and the golden age of animation according to a recent article in The Chronicle. The sleek new museum highlights the man who raised animation to an art and transformed the film industry through unique exhibits and rare artifacts.
Great Britain hasn’t had a revolution since the Glorious (and bloodless) One of 1688 (William & Mary, after the Merry Monarch), but the next revolution may be coming soon. In education, anyway.
Most British universities are public, and private schools are few in number, and for-profits are even less common. But that may all change, according to a recent report by Universities UK, an association of vice chancellors in Britain.
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