Stench of rotten fruit fills groves of academe
An apparent rise in corruption around the world is undermining all of higher education, says Philip Altbach. The deputy prime minister of Russia recently estimated that between $2 billion (£1.06...
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Alison Wolf
Why are we so reluctant to make a nuisance of ourselves over nonsensical policy? It boils down to the politics of size. We all know about special-interest groups. They are selfish, underhand affairs...
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Divine intervention
The Association of University Teachers has come under fire for hiring left-wing media commentator Polly Toynbee as a star columnist in its members' magazine, AUTLook . The issue after her inaugural...
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An offal coincidence?
Who says higher education has become a cynical commercial operation, churning out students as if from a sausage machine? Not just Laurie Taylor, it seems. Staff at Nottingham Trent University have...
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Who rises needs prizes
The academic gossip mill is working overtime with the realisation that three of the most powerful political jobs in science could be up for grabs this year. Despite determined attempts by the...
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Ground control to the BNSC
Those who have described Lord Sainsbury as the grey man of science may have to eat their words. Last week, he pulled out all the stops to launch a historic space science collaboration with China. The...
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A. C. Grayling: Review
`In an eye-watering moment von Hagens slices a testicle in half with what looks like a large bread knife' ANATOMY FOR BEGINNERS. Channel 4, 11pm daily, January 24 to . When Gunther von Hagens first...
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Why I... see no place for science in the abortion debate
Stunning 4-D ultrasound images of the foetus at 15 to 22 weeks gestation last year prompted a national debate over late-term abortion. Newspaper reports suggested that it could "walk", "cry" or "...
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Big sister's big rebuff
Was there revolutionary reason behind Greer's reality-TV madness? asks Roy Harris. Trying to anticipate how Germaine Greer's sharp analytic intelligence would fare in a competition of mind-numbing...
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Don't crumble or quit, call us
With workplace stress in the spotlight, a counsellor advises lecturers to seek help. After ten years in academe, the caller told me she was considering quitting. The lecturer had a mountain of forms...
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For now, our money should do the talking
Historians' responses to the Asian tsunami can wait, says Maria Misra I am from time to time asked by the media to comment on some story or event on which I'm thought to have expertise. Changes in...
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'D' in PhD does not mean dogsbody
Teaching undergraduates can help with your post-graduate work but, warns Harriet Swain, don't let other staff and students take advantage of you You need more time for research. You need more money....
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My worst nightmare
Early in my career, I was teaching in a residential support environment for people with rehabilitation and special needs. One day, a young woman asked if I could teach her to read and write. I joked...
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Better care for care-leavers
Only 1 per cent of care-leavers progress to higher education, compared with 40 per cent of school-leavers. For this reason, the Leicestershire Aimhigher Partnership is leading a national project,...
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Department audit
Gavin Poynter, head of school, gives the lowdown on social sciences, media and cultural studies at the University of East London * Total number of academic staff: 128 * Number of permanent academic...