Academe Today

Government

Too Small to Fail: How a Beauty-College Owner Beat the Education Dept.

For almost three years, the Blush School of Makeup fought to gain access to federal student-aid funds. What’s the government’s responsibility to rein in colleges at the margins of the for-profit sector?

Admissions

Some Colleges Share Lists of Early-Decision Admits. Now the Justice Department Is Investigating.

The department wants to determine if the exchange of information violates antitrust laws.

Leadership & Governance

‘Paterno’ Depicts Penn State’s Most Powerful Men in the Throes of Moral Crisis

The HBO film examines the child-sex-abuse scandal, focusing on what the legendary football coach and top administrators could have done to prevent it.

Administration

Professor Whose Assault Case Prompted Policy Changes at U. of Texas Is Found Dead

The revelation that Richard Morrisett pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in 2016 led the university to decide that employees can be disciplined for committing crimes off campus.

Faculty

Have Academics Finally Found the Perfect Meme?

A scene from the show American Chopper has taken the internet by storm, and academics are using it as a staging ground for fundamental debates.

The Adult Student: The Population Colleges — and the Nation — Can’t Afford to Ignore

America’s adult students have long been an afterthought in higher education. But demographic changes and economic pressures will soon require institutions to expand their horizons. This Chronicle report explores the growing imperative for colleges to support the adult-student movement.

The Chronicle Review

How Scholars Sustained White Supremacy

Racism has suffused our teaching for generations.

Lingua Franca

Copy Editing and Proofreading a Book: It Takes a Village

Geoff Pullum tackles the editing and proofing of a short book on why linguistics matters, and is glad he wasn’t trying to do it alone.