Drawing on data collected in a national study of doctoral program quality, information is examined pertaining to the graduate department's learning environment, the extent of faculty members' concern for students, graduate student assistantship experiences, and faculty satisfactions and views about various departmental practices and policies.…

Explored number of programs initiated to involve older adults in meaningful volunteer tasks, responsibilities, and roles on university campuses. Data demonstrate the feasibility of these programs and positive outcomes include improvement of intergenerational communication, reduction of ageism, provision of services to educational institutions, and…

A college's ethos, based on the perceptions of the institution's character from both faculty and students, may provide a basis for decisions necessary for a college's survival in the next decade. Survey results show colleges most likely to survive balance self-awareness, empathetic responsiveness, internal coherence, resilience, and autonomous…

Examines how ethnic conflict in society and in the institution itself is impacting on the African university. (SJL)

Studies at Harvard and Hampshire College are summarized to show the failure of traditional house systems or residence hall programing to bridge the gap between academic and living subcultures. It is suggested that student personnel staff focus on facilitation of students' personal development and interpersonal communication skills. (Author/MSE)

A theory of university autonomy is evolved that considers such elements as research, student recruitment and admission, physical environment, and administrative organization. The higher education systems of Sweden (before and after reform), Germany, the United States, and Britain are compared. (MSE)

The long-range planning and implementation approach to campus planning for the University of Michigan Central Campus is described as a model for effective facilities development. A planning study in 1963 resulted in a development pattern that has seen little major modification since then. (MSE)

A disabled student and an associate professor of architecture illustrate from their own experience at the University of California, Berkeley, the role of the university in helping all its members move into a larger world of relationships where categories like "able-bodied" and "handicapped" need not define these relationships.…

In examining the role of departmental leadership in higher education, the author tried to: (1) describe the role of the departmental chairman; (2) develop defining characteristics of leadership with regard to the department chairmanship; and (3) make definitive judgments for possible change in the selection and development of department leaders.…

Reviews 1995 court decisions concerning free speech in colleges and universities, focusing on the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment (educator speech, campus speech regulations, speech in public forum), religion clauses (Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause) and statutes (Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Equal Access Act). Concludes…

In the midst of a fragmented society, colleges and universities can provide living models of how a more inclusive democratic civil society can work. All colleges have this potential and must develop it. Trustees, presidents, provosts, deans, and faculty can all use specific techniques to foster a civic-minded community. (MSE)

Describes the March 1997 meeting of the Forum on the Future of Academic Medicine, devoted to two issues: how academic medical centers (AMCs) fund their complex activities and manage their resources; and the multiple missions, values, and cultures of AMCs. (MSE)

Reports on an ethnographic study of college students' participation in an academic community, focusing on processes occurring in a residential college's week-long orientation: first day on campus; residence hall meetings; picnic and convocation; informal discussion of gender topics; dance; first day of classes. Examines issues of disorientation,…

Discusses rejuvenation of the campus community service movement and its potential to explore the meaning of citizenship in a democracy. Argues that civic education should be an integral part of a liberal education and that community service can help prepare students for citizenship. A Rutgers University (New Jersey) program illustrates how service…

The new student union at George Mason University (Virginia) integrates traditional functions (food services, meeting rooms, offices, study areas, bookstore) with recreational activities (movie theater, dance studios) and academic uses (library, department offices, classrooms). Administrators hope the facility will bring faculty, staff, and…