Cornell University senior Brian Lo died in a fire in a student apartment building Friday morning, The Cornell Daily Sun reported. Lo, who appeared to have been trying to escape the fire, was a student in Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. The fire began around midnight and raged uncontrollably for three hours, Ithaca Deputy Fire Chief Tom Parsons said in an interview with The Daily Sun. Since the fire appeared to be accidental, no criminal charges are expected. Of the 13 Cornell students who resided in the building, six or seven escaped while the others were not present at the time of the fire. Although firefighters appeared at the scene two minutes after being dispatched, the building had already been burning for several minutes before the firefighters were notified, The Daily Sun reported.
Presenters at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual conference held in Washington, D.C., from May 6 to 7 provided survival advice to research universities that are struggling with decreased state funding, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Business consultants, education experts and prominent federal officers advised universities to "compete more," "cooperate more," "innovate more" and "change their culture," The Chronicle reported. Steven Beckwith, vice president of research and graduate studies for the University of California system, argued that American institutions are still making healthy progress in the "general style and approach" of research since foreign experts continue to emulate the American model of education, The Chronicle reported.
Professors in the beginning stages of their careers tend to ignore physical exercise more often than peers in other professions, according to a recent study published in the Canadian journal Academic Matters. The study which followed the exercise regimens of 267 Canadian assistant professors hired in the past five years found that only 30.7 percent engaged in at least the recommended minimum level of physical exercise. The study's findings are likely applicable to junior faculty members in the United States, study author Ryan Rhodes, director of the behavioral medicine laboratory at the University of Victoria, said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. The results may also apply to individuals who work in other professions that require them to sit at desks for many hours each day.
