As the ultimate symbol of excellence, the Nobel Prize has had a tremendous effect on scholars, institutions, and national pride. Topics discussed include: recruitment and fund raising, salaries and other perks, "raids" from other institutions, students seeking out winners, publication declines, etc. (MLW)

A federal court ruled that the Justice Department had failed to prove that Alabama's public colleges and universities were segregated. The Justice Department had argued that the entire state system was segregated, instead of offering evidence that specific programs receiving federal money had violated the anti-bias laws. (MLW)

Undergraduate science education at liberal arts colleges and historically Black institutions will be the focus of a program of grants given by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Colleges were invited to submit proposals to strengthen their biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics programs. (MLW)

York's president, Robert V. Iosue, believes colleges are wasting money in a variety of ways, including faculty salaries and employment of too many high-level administrators. He sees his colleagues as not appreciating his dissenting views. (MLW)

University administrators are expected by federal agencies to detect, investigate, and judge scientific fraud and misconduct on their campuses. Both National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health place primary responsibility on universities for spotting cases of scientific misconduct. (MLW)

A transformation in higher education in New Jersey can be attributed to several factors, including strong leadership by Governor Kean, the state's healthy economy, the high degree of collaboration between state leaders and higher education officials, and a greater willingness of institutions to show what they are or aren't accomplishing. (MLW)

A study to examine the repayment of Guaranteed Student Loans is described. It found that most of the institutions with more than 60 percent of their student loans in default are proprietary schools. The study is aimed at helping state and federal policymakers make decisions on student-aid programs. (MLW)

A consortium of universities has charged that research money has been concentrated in a small number of states that have already established close ties between higher education and small businesses. Some small-business advocates believe the consortium is trying to win money that has been earmarked for small businesses. (MLW)

The increased enrollment in journalism is from students interested in advertising, public relations, and the new programs being offered under the rubric of "communications." More jobs appear to be available in those fields and students perceive salaries in those fields to be greater than those in print journalism. (MLW)

Academic discipline cases at Auburn and Arizona State have focused attention on special treatment for athletes. In both cases, stiff penalities imposed on athletes by faculty or student-faculty committees were radically cut back by top administrators. (MLW)

The sale of complimentary textbooks to used-book dealers, who then resell them to college bookstores is discussed, along with author compensation for textbook resales. The question should be not how cheaply to sell a book but rather how to get good books. (MLW)

Computers and synthesizers are being used to create new sounds that cannot be played on traditional instruments. Computers and instructional software are also helping to teach students to compose music, to analyze scores, to read music, and to do ear training drills. (MLW)

Professors and administrators are vowing to fight what they call the "fundamentalist takeover" of Mercer University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The "takeovers" are seen as assaults on academic freedom. (MLW)

A plan for all of the state of Maryland's 13 public colleges and universities to be included in the University of Maryland System is discussed. The system would be governed by a board of regents, and each college would have a board of trustees to monitor campus issues. (MLW)

A plan for teacher education proposed by a special Massachusetts state panel is discussed. The report calls for: elimination of traditional undergraduate education major, a master's degree for all new teachers, a redesigned master's degree program that would emphasize classroom teaching, and designation of certain schools as teacher-development…