College presidents expressed concern over the future of liberal arts colleges at the Council of Independent Colleges conference on Wednesday, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Historian Jon Meacham said that the "quaint and quirky" liberal arts education pattern will soon become irrelevant as the government places more emphasis on research institutions, education and science, The Chronicle reported. Meacham also said that a liberal arts education provides students with training to think for themselves, which they can use to counteract "institutions and people who have a direct economic stake in the perpetuation of conflict as opposed to the resolution of problems," according to the article. Goucher College President Sanford Unger spoke against the lack of government support for higher education and criticized college administrators for their timidness, The Chronicle reported.
Dartmouth Psychology professor Bradley Duchaine and Harvard University professor Ken Nakayama released a new study on facial recognition that concluded that people in their early 30s are the most adept at recognizing new faces, according to The Toronto Star. This finding contradicts scientists' previously held belief that adolescents were the best at learning new faces. The study administered tests to participants in which they were asked to study the faces of young men, women and children. The results indicate that participants in their 30s experience many learning-based changes, according to The Star. The same researchers discovered that people in their early 20s are best at learning names and identifying upside-down faces, according to The Star.
Universities will be able to easily track their international activities and partnerships with the help of the UCosmic Consortium, an online system managed by the University of Cincinnati and the State University of New York system, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The Consortium will provide participating institutions with an "open-source software platform and common data standards" with which they can create and improve upon software in order to organize their overseas involvement, The Chronicle stated. Although current subscribers to the tool are education-based, associations and government agencies can also use the Consortium, according to The Chronicle. Mitch Leventhal who created the basis for the consortium at the University of Cincinnati in 2006 said he hopes that around 20 groups will utilize the program this year, The Chronicle reported.
