THE CHRONICLE
of Higher Education®
January 27, 2012 • $6.99
chronicle.com
Volume LVIII, Number 21
States Push
Even Further
to Cut Spending
on Colleges
By Eric Kelderman
FOR NEARLY four years, governors and state legislators have focused on little lse in higher education but cutting
budgets to deal with historic gaps in revenue.
now, with higher-education support at a 25-
year low, lawmakers are considering some
policy changes that have been off-limits in
the past, such as consolidating campuses and
eliminating governing boards.
such proposals reflect the reality that, in
most states, money for higher education will
be constrained for the foreseeable future.
systems in georgia and
Changes O
new york have already
in higher-
taken the unusual step of
education
combining campuses un-
spending
der a single president. oth-
for 2012,
er states, such as ohio, are
state by
MarK WiLson, geTTy iMages
state: A5
tutions more freedom from
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa is co-sponsor of the Research Works Act, which would prohibit federal agencies
state regulations, although
from requiring public access to journal articles, even if the research was supported by taxpayer dollars.
for college administrators there’s a trade-off:
They would get more flexibility but even less
state money.
on the agenda in many statehouses this
year will be bills that would tie higher-educa-
Who Gets to See Published Research?
tion appropriations to the completion rates of
students at public colleges. such performance-
Opponents of a proposed bill say it would work against the open exchange of ideas
based models, which have had a mixed record
in recent decades, are again popular with law-
makers trying to squeeze the most out of ev-
THE BAT TLE over public access to federally financed research is heat- ing up again. The basic question is
Hot Type
bers, including the Massachusetts insti-
tute of Technology’s press, have publicly
ery tax dollar and to reward colleges that are
BY JENNIFER HOWARD
disagreed with that position.
more efficient at producing graduates.
this: When taxpayers help pay for schol-
The White house’s office of science and
Legislators aren’t demanding that colleges
arly research, should those taxpayers get
even among publishers. a major trade
Technology policy just closed a period of
be more cost-efficient just to reduce spending
to see the results in the form of free access
group, the association of american pub-
public comment on public access to what
on higher education, says Travis J. reindl, a
to the resulting journal articles?
lishers, has thrown its weight behind pro-
it called “peer-reviewed scholarly publica-
higher-education researcher for the bipartisan
actions in Washington this month high-
posed new legislative limits on requiring
tions resulting from federally funded re-
national governors association. They also
light how far from settled the question is,
public access, while several of its mem-
Continued on Page A8
want to keep colleges affordable for students.
Continued on Page A4
Questions of Undue Influence Unseat 2 Professors
By Peter Schmidt
of faculty members and students.
now gone are the department’s
small, private academic settings,
only two full-time faculty mem-
GRADUATE STUDEN TS enroll in the department of social and cultural anthropology at the
by their nature, can be politically
bers—the husband-and-wife team
perilous environments, where strong
of angana p. Chatterji, a professor
personalities and personal allegianc-
who is an internationally promi-
California institute of integral stud-
es hold an inordinate amount of sway.
nent advocate of human rights in
ies to examine and fight oppression
but the controversy at the san Fran-
asia’s Kashmir region, and rich-
in postcolonial nations, not to en-
cisco-based Ciis is exceptional in
ard shapiro, an associate profes-
counter it at home.
terms of the abuses alleged to have
sor who had been the department’s
but over the past year they have
transpired there and the acrimony
chairman since 2004. although the
been pulled into a fierce battle
created by them. For both sides, per-
institute does not award tenure, she
within the institute. administrators,
haps, the conflict offers a lesson on
had been there for 14 years, and he
on one side, and a married faculty
the dangers, in such an environment,
for 25.
couple, on the other, have accused
of letting personal relationships blur
by all accounts, the department,
aLison yin For The ChroniCLe
each other of silencing dissent,
professional judgments and of fail-
which offers only master’s and doc-
Richard Shapiro and Angana Chatterji, husband and wife, were longtime
violating basic rules of fairness,
ing to adequately check and balance
toral programs, had revolved around
anthropology professors at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
and otherwise trampling the rights
power.
Continued on Page A6
INSIDE
A WEEKLYMAGAZINEOFIDEAS The Chronicleof Higher Education Section B January27,2012
Libya: Seller’s Market for Higher Education a
Bienvenidos a
Dueling Iliads a
in the post-Qaddafi era, the country presents a rich
a university in georgia
Three new versions join
opportunity for foreign universities and academics
supports Latino enroll-
a fierce competition.
to collaborate with their Libyan counterparts. A13
ment creatively. A9
Section B
The Siege
of the ‘Iliad’
By WILLIS G. REGIER
Upside of the Downturn
