Academics can be a mundane world, until a juicy scandal excites it.
The president of the University of Chicago recently come under fire for romantic involvement with a member of faculty. An entire ethical debate has subsequently risen over whether this presented potential for a conflict of interest.
The board has stated it sees absolutely no problems with the romantic involvement between the president and the professor. According to the Chicago Tribune
The university has taken steps to ensure that Zimmer will not be involved in decisions about her salary or promotions, spokesman Steve Kloehn said. If there are questions that typically would go to the president, they will instead go to Alper [the chairman of the university's board of trustees].
Spanier's wife, Sandra Spanier, is a Penn State employee. The question arises: Does President Spanier come into direct contact with questions related to his wife? Does it give her an unfair advantage compared to the rest of the faculty? Should the board let someone as qualified a professor as Sandra Spanier go, just so we it can avoid a potential conflict of interest? In all cases, the answer is: probably not.
It's been nearly a week since college football's National Signing day, when football recruits from coast to coast bring joy or break hearts via fax machine. Though the class of 2009 was hardly unimpressive, championships are a lot easier to win when the program acquires a large number of talented prospects in a short time. And now that the dust has settled, it's safe to say that Penn State has done exactly that.
Read on for a more detailed analysis, if you dare.
The University of Alabama is having a...umm...long...err...stiff...ehmm...hard problem. Craig Wedderspoon, head of the sculpture program at UA, recently installed a 10-foot-tall sculpture entitled "Argyle". Wedderspoon saw it as an abstract artistic expression, which was all fine and dandy until people started trying to go past the abstract.
“We had a lot of people come by and comment ‘giant phallus,' ” said Wedderspoon, head of the sculpture program at UA's Department of Art. “When confronted with something abstract, we may not know what it is, it's curious how quickly it is we go to our sexual organs."
Yes Mr. Wedderspoon, curious indeed. Wedderspoon, who's previously had similar comments on his work, denies any (intentional) innuendo. It's a good thing that we don't have any statues like this on campus that could be potentially misconstrued. Oh wait...
Read on to get a closer look at Penn State's dirty statue.
After an embarrassing setback by the leak of his email to IFC presidents about the Penn State Pulse survey, IFC President Max Wendkos seems determined to his resolve in combating high-risk drinking. The question is whether it will matter.
The rules are no liquor, no wine, and no more than 50 nonmembers. Frankly, this will likely do less good than a similar proposal from the taverns or UPUA would. And later tonight we will see UPUA President Gavin Keirans lead his assembly in discussion of the holiday-- after he announces his veto on a piece of elections code legislation.
Dr. Fariborz Ghadar, a Distinguished Scholar and Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a Professor of Global Business at the Smeal College of Business here at Penn State testified before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia last Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Ghadar, an Iranian-born citizen, spoke to Congress regarding U.S. policies on Iran. In his testimony, "America and the Iranian Political Reform Movement: First Do No Harm," which is available in full on Smeal's website, ushered in some sobering truths regarding the U.S. current policies towards Iran and offered up some now strategies in how to best deal with this nation that is now in turmoil.
What were some of these sobering truths? Read on to find out.
As planned, Governor Ed Rendell announced his budget proposals today for the 2010-2011 fiscal year in the Commonwealth and proposed $333.9 million in appropriations for Penn State.
This is the first of a million steps in the appropriations process for Penn State that must be taken before the university receives its funding. Over the next few months, university officials must meet with state legislators in order to come up with a final spending plan by weighing the university's costs and needs.
President Graham Spanier plans to go before the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 23 and the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 3.
After last year's near-explosive financial dilemma, lets hope that everything gets worked out in an ordered and timely fashion, like a good fire drill.
Movie Times
Find an Apartment
Find New/Used Vehicles