Effectively preventing skin cancer is a job for communities, not just individuals, according to a new study by Dartmouth Medical School researchers. Skin cancer, caused by sun damage to the skin early in life, is theoretically easy to prevent, but as children enter their middle school years and adopt their own health habits, protective practices drastically decline. Published in the January issue of "Pediatrics," the study "SunSafe in the Middle School Years" targeted 10 New Hampshire and Vermont communities, studying the skin protection habits of almost 2,000 sixth through eighth graders. The researchers recruited teens and adults to deliver messages on safe skin care through clothing, the use of sunscreen, and more time spent in the shade. The study found that within two years, the students' skin care habits were much improved as compared to other teens in the area. The researchers recommend that these programs should be integrated into communities and begin early in middle school.
A panel reporting on the tenure policies of Yale University released its recommendations Tuesday, concurrent with the news that Yale intends to follow much of the panel's advice. Yale has decided to make its tenure policy more transparent and accessible to junior professors. Although gaining tenure as a junior professor will still be difficult, the creation of an actual tenure track with advising and clearly delineated expectations could make the process easier, as could two built-in paid leave years for research. Yale hopes that by making tenure as a junior professor an achievable goal, it will be able to both attract the most talented professors and make them more invested in Yale as an institution. The ultimate goal, Yale says, is to improve the quality of undergraduate teaching.
On Feb. 2, alumni hoping to enter the race for a seat on the Board of Trustees as petition candidates had to submit 500 petition signatures of other alumni supporting them. Of the two potential petition candidates who had publicly announced their plans to run -- Stephen Smith '88 and Janos Marton '04 -- Marton failed to procure enough signatures. Smith will vie against the slate of candidates the Alumni Council ratified in December: Richard "Sandy" Alderson '69, Sherri Oberg '82 Tu'86 and John S. Wolf '70. Voting will take place from Apr. 1 through May 15, 2007.
