At the annual gathering of the Modern Language Association (MLA), panel members seemed to talk past each other. Mark Bauerlein and David Horowitz each criticized the professoriate for not acknowledging real problems in the classroom or the ways identity politics can infringe on academic freedom. Norma V. Canti and Cary Nelson did not respond to…

Recent closings in the commercial publishing industry and reduction in serious nonfiction publications may open doors for university presses to fill the gap. University presses are already anticipating the changing market, reviewing book lists, and looking at new areas for publication development. Changes in the commercial publishing industry are…

Health-promotion programs provided for higher education staff are increasing. They draw on the expertise of physical education and athletic staff, counseling services, and medical centers to encourage employees to adopt lifetime regimens of healthy living. (MSE)

The trend toward including instruction in critical and logical thinking as a required element in the college curriculum, and the various approaches to teaching it, are discussed. (MSE)

Quality circles, in which a small group of employees meet frequently and voluntarily to study on-the-job problems and suggest solutions and improvements to the administration, which agrees to consider them, are a growing phenomenon, particularly in community colleges. (MSE)

Math and science instruction now often includes more brief, informal writing exercises, sometimes completed in class, as a means of helping college students think more clearly. While writing skills are not emphasized, student writing often improves as a by-product. (MSE)

Faculty members at the University of California are braced for a bitter and protracted court battle over academic decision-making. Six academics, who say they have been mistreated under the current confidential tenure and promotion reviews, are trying to open the reviews and give tenure candidates access to their files. (MLW)

Sharply reduced tax benefits of some gifts of appreciated property, especially works of art, have college officials worried that their collections at campus museums and galleries will suffer. John Whitney Payson's decision to sell Van Gogh's "Irises," on loan to Westbrook College, is described. (MLW)

As college fund-drive goals reach new heights, so do the pressures felt by the directors of development and other top fund raisers. Concerns aired at the annual meeting of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education are discussed. Part of the competitive atmosphere is "one-upmanship." (MLW)

A report sent to colleges called on presidents to adopt an official policy condemning sexual assault, revise student conduct codes to prohibit it specifically, modify living arrangements of victims and the accused, establish programs for victims, and heighten campus security. (MSE)

The Real Estate Investment Trust, a companion organization to the Common Trust, allows colleges to commit as little as $50,000 for investments in commercial properties at minimum risk, which could protect endowments while providing returns comparable to those of the stock market. (MSE)

More than 90 percent of the American Association of University Women's Educational Foundation funds comes from the association's 150,000 members. Awards for graduate study, postdoctoral studies, and international fellowships are reported. (MLW)

The Ford Foundation's increase, by almost one-fourth, of support to higher education is intended to reinvigorate college teaching, especially in the social sciences, and to improve opportunities for minority group faculty. Other new foundation efforts include support of a program to assist victims of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).…

The Charles A. Dana Foundation is trying to bring attention to innovations that improve the quality of undergraduate education and those that prevent disease and promote health. It is especially interested in ideas that can be copied on other campuses or in other communities or medical institutes. (MLW)

A benefactor's business practices, involvement with political groups, or personal activities can bring protests and negative publicity to a college and raise ethical questions about accepting some donations. (Author/MSE)