Chronicle of Higher Education Audio: Interviews

Fund Raising in Tough Times

Interviews — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Judith M. Jobbitt, of the consulting company Bentz Whaley Flessner, describes the fund-raising approaches that are getting results and offers advice for development offices as they work through the recession.

How Colleges Can Weather the Economic Storm

Interviews — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Cash-strapped colleges will have to make tough choices in the coming years about staffing, student aid, recruitment, and a host of other fundamental issues. Janice M. Abraham, president of United Educators Insurance, and Peter N. Stearns, provost of George Mason University, describe the courses of action that many institutions will consider.

Adam Smith: What's Next for Google Book Search?

Interviews — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Google has scanned millions of books through its Book Search program and making snippets available online. The project has taken heat from authors and publishers, but Adam Smith, Google's director of product management, says it's a good thing for academe.

How Florida's Budget Woes Affect Faculty Members

Interviews — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Florida's top public universities face one of the nation's worst budget challenges but have largely managed to cope with the money shortages, for now.

Richard D. Legon: Staying Strategic During the Recession

Interviews — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT

The recession is presenting college governing boards with big challenges, says Richard D. Legon, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities. In a conversation with The Chronicle, Mr. Legon describes how boards can be strategic in tackling financial-planning problems.

Brian C. Rosenberg: Can Liberal-Arts Colleges Survive?

Interviews — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Residential liberal-arts colleges are expensive to run, so the flagging economy has forced them to take a close look at how they do business. Brian C. Rosenberg, president of Macalester College, describes which liberal-arts institutions will survive and thrive in a newly cost-conscious era.

U. of California President Says Public Colleges Can't Go On Like This

Interviews — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Mark G. Yudof, president of the University of California, believes the budget structures of public universities are unsustainable. He talks about how federal and state governments could change their approach to financing higher education and the shifts colleges themselves should consider in how they operate.

U. of Alaska Just Says No to Earmarks

Interviews — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Mark R. Hamilton, president of the University of Alaska Statewide System since 1998, has dramatically reduced the number of FEDERAL earmarks the system receives. Mr. Hamilton, a retired Major General in the U.S. Army, explains why in this interview.

Charlie Reed: How to Reach Obama's Education Goal

Interviews — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the California State University system, wants the federal government to provide direct aid to four-year colleges based on the number of students they enroll who are eligible for Pell Grants or who are from underrepresented minority groups. He says that such a program, which he estimates would cost $12-billion to $14-billion, would help institutions meet President Obamaâs goal for the United States to have the worldâs highest proportion of college graduates by 2020. It would do so by covering some costs of remediation and other support services for students who need extra help to remain in college and earn a degree.

James R. Zanewicz: Marketing Academic Inventions in a Tough Market

Interviews — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:00:00 EDT

With the economy on the ropes, moving academic inventions from the lab to the marketplace is increasingly important -- and increasingly challenging. James R. Zanewicz, director of the Office of Technology Transfer at the University of Louisville, says universities need to be more flexible in the deals they negotiate and more realistic about the money they expect to earn.

Biddy Martin: How to Talk About the Recession

Interviews — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:00:00 EDT

College chiefs have to be careful to adopt the right tone when discussing the recession with trustees and professors. Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin, new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, describes how she navigated a series of public forums on the university�'s financial situation.

Northeastern U.'s President: Finding Opportunities in the Recession

Interviews — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Joseph E. Aoun, Northeastern University's president, explains how the financial struggles of the middle class will lead to shifts in the traditional model of higher education -- and how his university is coping with the economic downturn.

College Leaders May Benefit From Downturn, Economists Say

Interviews — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EDT

As colleges pare down their budgets, it�'s important they focus on cuts that will actually reduce their long-term expenditures, rather than simply putting off needed expenses, says Sandy Baum, a senior policy analyst with the College Board. Ms Baum and Michael S. McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation, both of whom are economists, spoke with The Chronicle about how the recession could affect both colleges�' costs and the price that students pay.

Debra Rowe: How to Understand What the Sustainability Movement Means

Interviews — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EDT

We don't just want our students to be educated about solar panels and more efficient light bulbs, but about the sustainability movement in technology and it's importance as a whole, says Debra Rowe, a professor of renewable energy, energy management, and psychology at Oakland Community College.

Robert Sevier: Building a Class in Tight Times

Interviews — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Institutions must be strategic and resist the temptation to retrench as they recruit students in a tight economy. Robert A. Sevier, senior vice president for strategy with the consulting firm Stamats, discusses what colleges should and shouldnât do in a Chronicle podcast.

Are Politics Too Prevalent in the Classroom?

Interviews — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:54:00 EDT

In their new book, "Closed Minds?: Politics and Ideology in American Universities," three professors at George Mason University argue that colleges are not saturated in politics, as some critics charge. In fact, the authors say, professors often shy away from political debate.

Peter Welch: A Lawmaker Keeps Tabs on Tuition

Interviews — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:00:00 EDT

This year Rep. Peter F. Welch, a Vermont Democrat, has sought the attention of higher education officials on college costs and endowment spending. He has succeeded, but he has also left some college administrators wondering why a Democratic fan of higher education has assumed such a role. The Chronicle spoke with Mr. Welch at his Capitol Hill office.

Jim Belvin: More Than Just Awarding Money

Interviews — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Duke University's long-time financial aid director discusses the current state of his profession- and its future.

Vance Fried: College For $7,376 a Year?

Interviews — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:00:00 EDT

Vance H. Fried, a professor at Oklahoma State University, has produced -- on paper, at least -- a model institution that could provide students a well-rounded education for just $7,376 a year.

Hal Abelson and Harry Lewis: Making Sense of the 'Digital Explosion'

Interviews — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT

A new book, "Blown to Bits," offers engineer's-eye views on copyright infringement, digital censorship, and "why we lost our privacy, or gave it away." Two of the book's authors -- Hal Abelson, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harry Lewis, a professor of computer science at Harvard University -- weigh in on what they call "the digital explosion."

David Oglesby: An Earthshaking Lecture

Interviews — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

What's it like to have an earthquake interrupt your lecture about...earthquakes? David D. Oglesby, an assistant professor of seismology at the University of California at Riverside, describes his earthshaking classroom experiences last week.

Aisha Labi: Reporting From Tehran

Interviews — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:52:00 EDT

Aisha Labi, The Chronicle's correspondent in Europe, discusses her recent trip to Iran to report on the Iranian government's efforts to suppress activism on university campuses.

What's Online Learning Really Like?

Interviews — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EDT

After covering distance education for more than a decade, The Chronicle's Goldie Blumenstyk finally took the plunge and enrolled in an online course through the University of Phoenix. She shares tales from the cyber-classroom with Paul Fain, a Chronicle reporter.

Keeping Track of Transfers

Interviews — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:26:00 EDT

The University of North Texas has about 35,000 students, but many of them didn't start their academic careers there. Gretchen Bataille, president of North Texas, talks about how the institution manages the flow of transfer students.

Gordon Gee's Guidelines for a Successful Presidency

Interviews — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Ohio State University's president, E. Gordon Gee, is one of the nation's most veteran university chiefs. He describes how to weather challenges as a president, including how to deal with hostility from Capitol Hill.

Student Loan Companies Seeking Federal Help

Interviews — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Carl C. Dalstrom, president and chief executive of USA Funds, the nation's largest guarantee agency, describes why companies involved in federally subsidized student lending need even more government assistance before they can continue making loans for this coming academic year.

How International Outreach Helps Undergraduates

Interviews — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT

David W. Leebron, president of Rice University, describes why his institution is focusing on "the foreign experience" and why he'll appear next month at a U.S. Department of State summit about globalization.

Is the Internet Stifling Innovation?

Interviews — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, argues in a new book that people's growing intolerance for viruses, spam, and other computer maladies will end up crippling technological advancement.

Preparing for the Pope

Interviews — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT

The Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, president of the Catholic University of America, describes how his institution is getting ready to welcome Pope Benedict XVI, who has planned a visit this month.

Imagining Our World as a Virtual Reality

Interviews — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Brian Whitworth, a researcher at the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, talks about his recent research paper that poses the question: What if the physical world we live in is a virtual-reality construct inside a giant computer?

Keeping Researchers and Undergraduates Happy

Interviews — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Mark A. Emmert, president of the University of Washington, describes how his institution balances research priorities with the experience it offers undergraduates.

Google Sees College Audience as Ideal Focus Group for Its Products

Interviews — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Marissa Mayer, vice president for search products and user experience at Google, talks about the company's efforts to get colleges to adopt its e-mail service and responds to critics of the company's partnership with college libraries.

Educating for Profits

Interviews — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Robert Silberman, chief executive officer of Strayer Education Inc., and Sondra Stallard, president of Strayer University, discuss how their for-profit institution works to grow and be profitable without compromising on quality.

How the Internet Is Changing Education, One 'Tinkerer' at a Time

Interviews — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:48:00 EDT

John Seely Brown, a computing pioneer who focuses on learning, the social role of information, and innovation, argues that in the Internet age, tinkering is back, and that's good for education.

Examining Ph.D. Completion Rates

Interviews — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, discusses its report on Ph.D. completion rates and the National Research Council's forthcoming rankings of graduate programs.