After decades of neglect, African universities have become the focus of intense interest by U.S. universities, foundations, and donor agencies convinced that without stronger higher education, the continent's development prospects will remain bleak. This attention is notably different from such efforts in the past in sub-Saharan Africa, which have…

The internationalization of higher education in the Americas is mostly talk with little action, concluded delegates at a joint congress in Mexico's second-largest city. More than 300 university administrators, professors, and education specialists from throughout the region and Europe met in Guadalajara last month to promote inter-American…

The frosty relationship between the United States and Iran has created a chill in many areas of scholarly endeavor. One resulting battle, over whether Iranian scholars can belong to the American Chemical Society, has been largely resolved. But a new imbroglio looms with the arrest of a prominent U.S.-Iranian scholar who was visiting Tehran. The…

As the Obama administration takes office, educators involved in development work abroad look to the future with hope. Although the economic downturn may constrain the new president's ability to make financial commitments abroad, Barack Obama has said he wants to double the amount of foreign assistance provided by the United States to fight poverty…

A Mexican saying holds that "Como Mexico no hay dos"--There is only one Mexico. American media these days interpret that notion with a vengeance. Story after story depicts a country overrun by out-of-control drug wars and murder, where corrupt police officers trip over beheaded victims more often than they nab perpetrators. South of the…