Archives for April 2014

Important Read: The Soul of the University by Nicholas Lemann

Here are two links to it: The Soul of the University – Higher Ed Reporter. The Soul of the Research University    

How Did They Become Adjuncts? And Are They All the Same? I Don’t Think So.

There is a sad article in The Atlantic. The Adjunct Revolt: How Poor Professors Are Fighting Back – Elizabeth Segran – The Atlantic. I tried to comment and express my concern for adjuncts, especially before they go down the road to being adjuncts.  I hope my comment made it clear that this is a difficult […]

Krueger and Dale: What do Large Confidence Intervals Say?

In Getting Into the Ivies – NYTimes.com, which I refer to in a previous post , David Leonhardt refers to a paper by Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale.  From that paper Leonhardt concludes that “…there is still scant evidence that the selectivity of the college one attends matters much…”  I don’t reach the same conclusion, and […]

Do Universities Care About Societal Issues? See “Getting Into the Ivies”

Getting Into the Ivies – NYTimes.com.   Here is what I wrote, “…the poor catch up with the rich to the extent that they achieve the same level of technological know-how, skill, and education…” (quoted from Piketty, Thomas (2014-03-10). Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Kindle Locations 1315-1316). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition. ) It is […]

Focus on Administrative Attitudes: Carnegie Mellon Contrasted With Washington Univ. in St. Louis

I received a comment from someone who taught at Carnegie in the 90’s.  I will compare it – only with respect to administrative attitudes –  to my experience at Washington Univ. in St. Louis.  I believe that, though both of these observations are somewhat anecdotal, there is enough substance (and observation) in both cases to illuminate these serious and important […]

Those Master’s-Degree Programs at Elite U.? They’re For-Profit – Commentary – The Chronicle of Higher Education

This is excellent – one of the few I have seen where the author gets it. Those Master’s-Degree Programs at Elite U.? They’re For-Profit – Commentary – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Google: Comp. Sci. Grads Who Do Get Jobs There

I thought I would follow up on my last post How to Get a Job at Google [Really What to Do in College to Get a Good Job.], Part 2 – NYTimes.com with the following list which I compiled from LinkedIn (So it is only a very rough estimate): School                      Math SAT              % Comp. Sci. grads at Google Harvey […]

How to Get a Job at Google [Really What to Do in College to Get a Good Job.], Part 2 – NYTimes.com

Great advice (not just about Google) from Laszlo Bock, the head of hiring at Google: How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2 – NYTimes.com. Here is the advice that I would add:  (I commented on the NYTimes site.) You need to make sure that your college or university is fullfilling the requirements Mr. Bock talks […]

Added Edit to a Post on U. of Chicago Curriculum

I added this link to “Content Deflation” Part II: University of Chicago Felt the Heat University of Chicago Choses Cornell Provost – NYTimes.com. I think the U. of Chicago case is important because it shows that the faculty are the final arbiters of the schools’ educational mission and of whether the university will sell its “soul”.  […]