Trustees and professors have little understanding of one another's roles in university governance, according to a survey released Friday by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Although the association did not survey faculty members directly, it found that just 23 percent of respondents who included university presidents, board chairs and chief academic officers felt they understood "well" or "very well" how faculty members contribute to the governance of a university. The same small percentage thought faculty had a good understanding of trustees' roles, according to The Chronicle. Common issues between the two groups include the perception of trustees as adversarial and of faculty members as privileged and overpaid, The Chronicle reported.
President Barack Obama will suggest a new policy to cap student loan payments during his State of the Union address Wednesday as part of a larger package to help middle-class families, The New York Times reported Monday. The measure would limit federal loan payments to 10 percent of income above a basic living allowance and is expected to cost taxpayers about $1 billion. Other proposals to be released in the address include tax credits for child care, retirement legislation and programs to help families caring for aging relatives. Although the address is not yet complete, a senior official told The Times the speech will focus on the national budget deficit, job creation and the "sandwich generation" those caring for both children and older parents. The focus of the speech is a shift from the President's current push for health care reform and other far-reaching issues and may garner the support of voters experiencing financial difficulty, The Times reported.
The Texas State Board of Education removed the children's book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" from the state's social studies curriculum because of fears that its author promoted communist ideology, The Dallas Morning News reported. In fact, the book's author, Bill Martin Jr., was confused with DePaul University professor Bill Martin, the author of "Ethical Marxism: the Categorical Imperative of Liberation," according to The Morning News. The name raised red flags after a member of the State Board of Education saw Bill Martin Jr.'s book in a search on Borders.com, prompting another board member to remove "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" Critics contend that the social studies standards update was overly political because of changes it made to the way imperialism, communism and free trade are approached in schools, according to The Morning News.
