“In a June 30 address to the Royal Irish Academy at Trinity College, Dublin, where she was made an honorary member (earlier, she also met with alumni), President Drew Faust reemphasized her vision of the place of research universities ‘in a changing and globalizing world’ …” (more)
[Harvard Magazine, 30 June]
“Is Oxford sexist? Paula Claire hoots with laughter. ‘Is the Pope a Catholic?’ she retorts. The only woman in the running for the Oxford Professorship of Poetry withdrew from the race after the university referred to her only as ‘performer and artist’, while the other ten contenders were all described as ‘poet’ …” (more)
[Mary Ann Sieghart, Times, 30 June]
“Dublin-born poet Harry Clifton has spoken of his surprise at being named as the new Ireland Professor of Poetry. The 57-year-old was picked by a panel of top academics and arts figures for the role, which will see him deliver readings, workshops and university lectures …” (more)
[Independent, 30 June]
“Failure to invest in higher education is a failure to invest in all that is good in our society, the Chancellor of the University of Ulster told graduates at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast today. In his inaugural graduation speech to over 1000 graduates and their families and friends, Chancellor James Nesbitt delivered an incisive overview of the challenges facing higher education …” (more)
[University of Ulster, 30 June]
“Hi Everyone, It’s the last day of my job, as Equality Officer of USI. I’m leaving once I post this! The headline may strike you as very stark and a tad dramatic but if it got you reading this, then it did what it was supposed to do …” (more)
[Linda Kelly, USI Equality Blog, 30 June]
“Science teaching in Italian universities could be crippled if tens of thousands of junior staff make good on threats to strike later this year. The ‘ricercatori’ (researchers) are protesting harsh university budget cuts and a looming reform bill, which threaten their futures …” (more)
[Alison Abbott, Nature, 30 June]
“… today’s Western governments are also half-right. They are right that universities have a public responsibility but wrong that this responsibility amounts to little more than economic responsiveness. Actually, in his less shrunken, fuller conception of public responsibility – if only in that – Comrade Zhdanov was somewhat wiser than our own rulers …” (more)
[Nigel Biggar, Standpoint, July/August 2010]
“I was unsure whether or not to do a ‘Goodbye’ to the Student Movement Blog but I said ‘Why Not?’. So after 3 years, I move on from the world of Student Politics. Student Politics; that was always an expression I didn’t like, maybe it’s because I came from a smaller college where the role of the SU wasn’t to focus on Policy and wasn’t to analyse structures, but was simply to assist and support students and give them the best College Life they could …” (more)
[Jono Clifford’s Blog, 30 June]
“The US Supreme Court decision on Monday that struck down handgun restrictions imposed by the City of Chicago was seen as a major victory for gun-rights advocates. Higher-education leaders, however, are optimistic that the ruling will not undermine campus bans on firearms …” (more)
[Eric Kelderman, Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 June]
“A Galway Senator has called for a debate on the future funding and provision of third level education. Fine Gael Seanad Education Spokesperson Fidelma Healy Eames has said that debate is needed in light of the fact that the return of student tuition fees is set to be endorsed by the Hunt Report on higher education in the autumn …” (more)
[Galway Independent, 30 June]
“Nearly two years ago the Irish government published a paper (Building Ireland’s Smart Economy) in which it identified what it called the ‘smart economy’ as the best support for economic regeneration and an escape from the deepening recession …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 30 June]
“The reluctance of third-level academics to open their work activities to scrutiny may put increased public investment at risk, the head of the Higher Education Authority warns …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 30 June]
“If a hearing-impaired student asks for a sign-language interpreter during a semester abroad in Ireland, is his home university required to accommodate the request? Campus officials took up that question and others here on Tuesday at the annual conference of the National Association of College and University Attorneys …” (more)
[Sara Lipka, Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 June]
“A plan to close smaller Welsh universities has been broadly welcomed by education professionals …” (more)
[BBC News, 30 June]
“The first woman to serve as president of Harvard will meet Taoiseach Brian Cowen today before addressing the Royal Irish Academy on the challenges facing higher education. In Dublin yesterday, Dr Drew Faust said her address would examine the increasing pressure on higher education from government to provide a dizzying array of functions …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 30 June]
“A strict list of rules for scientists to follow when working with animals has been launched in the journal PLoS Biology. Drawn up by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), the 20-point checklist seeks to address the poor reporting of animal experiments in academic journals and research papers …” (more)
[Hannah Fearn, Times Higher Education, 30 June]
“The contemporary university faces many pressing, and often conflicting, challenges. A catalogue of these pressures would include the need to compete in the global knowledge economy and the imperative to meet policy goals set by governments in fields such as equity, research and development and, increasingly, trade …” (more)
[Luke Slattery, The Australian, 30 June]
“Galway Senator, Niall O Brolchain, has welcomed the launch of the first electric car charge point at NUI, Galway – which is also the first charge point put in place across the Irish Universities. The charge point was launched by Minister Eamon Ryan today. ‘Once again Galway is leading the way in renewable energy …'” (more)
[Green Party, 29 June]
“Some Welsh universities are to face closure, Education Minister Leighton Andrews has announced. He indicated smaller bodies will be forced into mergers, meaning a smaller number of larger and stronger ones …” (more)
[BBC News, 29 June]
“The Open University is claiming a world record for the number of iTunes downloads – as the first to reach 20 million. Universities around the world are now distributing material through the iTunes U educational area of the online service …” (more)
[Sean Coughlan, BBC News, 29 June]
Ninth Level Ireland 