Higher Education News

World & Nation
The number of Black students in college has surged by 43 percent since the 1970s, according to a recent Urban League report. But Black women have far outpaced Black men in both undergraduate and graduate school settings.

From 1977 to 1997, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Black men increased by 30 percent, while the number for Black women increased by 77 percent. For master's degrees, the increases were 8 percent for men and 39 percent for women.

"The numerical status of African-American men in higher education is a cause for concern," notes the Urban League.

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reports that, in 1997, 454,000 of the nation's Black women had master's degrees compared with 222,000 Black men.

Temporary workers—who are routinely denied a voice in the workplace—won a major victory this summer when the National Labor Relations Board ruled they can be part of the same union as the permanent employees they work alongside without the "consent" of the employment agency that assigned them to the workplace.

The ruling effects the 1.2 million people employed by temporary agencies, one of the fastest growing segments of the work force. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called the ruling "an important step in addressing the rights of contingent workforce employees, who have too often been relegated to second-class status and rights—if any."

A study, conducted by researchers at the Center on Population, Gender and Social Inequality at the University of Maryland, finds that men enjoy more free time than women do and experience that time in significantly different ways.

Researchers report that men enjoy about a half an hour more free time than women per day. Marriage reduces free time for both men and women, although women suffer a greater drop in leisure time after they marry.

The report also notes that the more hours mothers work outside the home, the less free time they spend with children.

Faculty & Staff
A week-long strike by the faculty union at Eastern Michigan University has produced an agreement with the university that prevents the university from increasing the use of part-time and temporary appointment faculty unless the university can show a significant change in circumstances.

From 1995 to 1999, the proportion of tenured and tenure-track faculty slots at the university declined by 4.9 percent, the union notes. During the same three-year period, the proportion of full-time slots for lecturers climbed by 17.8 percent.

This was the first time the 687 member faculty union, an affiliate of the American Association of University Professors, has hit the picket lines at Eastern Michigan in more than 20 years. The use of part-time faculty members was a critical stumbling block when it came to signing a contract.

Learn more about the strike and the settlement on the Eastern Michigan University at www.aaup.org/emu.htm.

Professional News
A report from the National Research Council has warned that the United States is falling behind other industrialized nations in teaching science, math, and technology.

Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium calls for U.S. schools and colleges to form partnerships to find and train better teachers in those subjects.

The report, created by a committee that included educators from the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels, argues that better education is needed for both current and potential science, math, and technology teachers, and that schools are having difficulty recruiting and keeping qualified people in those fields.

One suggestion from the report: College instructors should use teaching methods their students could use if they become elementary or secondary teachers.

The full report is available online at http://nationalacademies.org/.

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Most Two-Year College Faculty Are Satisfied With Their Career Choice
Source: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (NSOPF:93)