The 30th annual "Forbes 400" issue featured Leon Black '73 on its cover, along with 11 other wealthy individuals that the magazine named "Titans of Philanthropy." Black and his wife Debra have contributed to several Dartmouth arts initiatives, including the Black Family Visual Arts Center and the Ellsworth Kelly sculpture "Dartmouth Panels," installed in July on the east side of the Hopkins Center. The philanthropists' total net worth is about $126 billion and includes figures such as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet, who has pledged to donate 99 percent of his wealth to philanthropic causes, according to Forbes.
Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman, who has held the position since 2001, will step down at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year but will remain on the Princeton faculty, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Tilghman is the university's first female and second-longest serving president. A molecular biologist, Tilghman is also Princeton's first president with a science background, and her selection surprised many because she had never held a senior administrative position, according to The Chronicle. As president, Tilghman restored Princeton's early admissions policy, expanded the African-American studies program and supported increased spending for female faculty members, The Chronicle reported.
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found evidence that both male and female scientists are biased against female students, Inside Higher Ed reported. The study was based on scientists' evaluation of hypothetical student applications that were completely identical except for the gender of the applicant. Faculty members were told to evaluate competence and "hireability" and to consider how large of a salary they would suggest and how much they time they would spend mentoring the student. Researchers found a statistically significant difference between male and female applicants, concluding that male students were rated more competent, more likely to be hired and more worthy of a better salary. Although faculty members "liked" female students more, the male students were rated higher in a professional setting, Insider Higher Ed reported.
