USA Today
February 8, 2010
By Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY
As colleges nationwide review freshman applications over the next several weeks, many will face lopsided numbers of male and female candidates. Some colleges maintain a gender balance, but national data in recent years show a 57%-43% split favoring women, both in enrollments and graduation rates. Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail and a former USA TODAY editorial writer, talks to reporter Mary Beth Marklein about how we got there, why we should care, and what should be done about it.
Q: Why do boys fail, and how do we turn that around?
A: The reforms launched by the nation's governors more than 20 years ago to get more students college-ready had an unintended consequence: Most girls adjusted nicely to the intensified verbal skills demanded in the early grades; most boys didn't. We have to figure out a way to keep boys on track with reading and writing skills. Boys are failing because the world has gotten more verbal and they haven't.
Q&A: Michael Gurian says boys need societal nurturing, too
COLLEGE: Gender gap steady at 57% women
K-12: Few teachers are black men
Q: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is investigating whethercolleges discriminate against girls by giving boys a break in admissions, but you support affirmative action for male students for "just a little longer." How long is that?
A: I would like to get (college graduation rates) at a 55-45 split. We need to wait until corrections are made in elementary and high school that put boys on a better path toward college readiness. Improving verbal skills would be 90% of that task. The first measurement of success would be a drop in the number of boys in the ninth-grade "bulge" — the boys held back for another year because they are not prepared to start high school.
Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-02-09-whyboysfail09_ST_N.htm
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Win for Women Who Wrestled
Inside Higher Ed
February 9, 2010
A federal appeals court on Monday ordered the University of California at Davis to defend itself against sex discrimination charges brought by a group of female former wrestlers at the institution. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which sided with the former athletes on several fronts, overturned a lower court judge's 2008 opinion.
That judge, Frank Damrell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, had dismissed a lawsuit brought by several women who had, in 2000, been dropped from the wrestling team and, after bringing a federal complaint, reinstated but ordered to compete against men for spots on the squad.
Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/09/davis
February 9, 2010
A federal appeals court on Monday ordered the University of California at Davis to defend itself against sex discrimination charges brought by a group of female former wrestlers at the institution. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which sided with the former athletes on several fronts, overturned a lower court judge's 2008 opinion.
That judge, Frank Damrell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, had dismissed a lawsuit brought by several women who had, in 2000, been dropped from the wrestling team and, after bringing a federal complaint, reinstated but ordered to compete against men for spots on the squad.
Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/09/davis
Oregon minority group to offer scholarships to white students
OregonLive.com
By Janie Har, The Oregonian
February 07, 2010, 7:20PM
An Oregon group that represents minorities will start offering scholarships to white students -- and only white students -- in a bid to get people in the majority to champion issues important to minorities. The stipends will be small, perhaps no more than $2,000 over five years, for students to study race relations in college. The idea is to get students to translate what they learn in school into action in life. The Oregon League of Minority Voters has not figured out details for the awards, to be issued this spring, said Promise King, executive director of the statewide nonprofit organization. But recipients must live in Oregon. And they can't be of Asian, African, Latino or Native descent. "I want to reach white students because I believe the more the majority is involved in our conversations and in our work, the more we are able to get to solutions," King said. The idea of nudging white people to take up diversity and equity may be the way to go in a state and city where whites far outnumber people of color. But it also underlines a stark reality in Oregon: the stubborn lack of color in power.
Full Story: http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/02/oregon_minority_group_to_offer.html
By Janie Har, The Oregonian
February 07, 2010, 7:20PM
An Oregon group that represents minorities will start offering scholarships to white students -- and only white students -- in a bid to get people in the majority to champion issues important to minorities. The stipends will be small, perhaps no more than $2,000 over five years, for students to study race relations in college. The idea is to get students to translate what they learn in school into action in life. The Oregon League of Minority Voters has not figured out details for the awards, to be issued this spring, said Promise King, executive director of the statewide nonprofit organization. But recipients must live in Oregon. And they can't be of Asian, African, Latino or Native descent. "I want to reach white students because I believe the more the majority is involved in our conversations and in our work, the more we are able to get to solutions," King said. The idea of nudging white people to take up diversity and equity may be the way to go in a state and city where whites far outnumber people of color. But it also underlines a stark reality in Oregon: the stubborn lack of color in power.
Full Story: http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/02/oregon_minority_group_to_offer.html
Monday, February 8, 2010
Racial bias tied to levels of inflammation protein
The Boston Globe
February 8, 2010
Experiencing frequent racial discrimination, from signs of disrespect to outright harassment, has been linked to poor health. A new study pinpoints one protein that may be involved in higher rates of cardiovascular disease among people facing racial bias.
Tene Lewis of the Yale School of Public Health led a team that asked almost 300 African-Americans, whose average age was 73, about discrimination they felt in their daily lives. The participants filled out questionnaires, had physical exams, answered questions about their medical histories, and gave blood samples that were used to determine levels of C-reactive protein, or CRP. The protein, which increases with inflammation, has been tied to cardiovascular disease.
Participants were divided into high-, moderate- and low-discrimination groups, and those who reported experiencing the highest level of discrimination had CRP values that were 60 percent higher than those in the low-discrimination group, the researchers found.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/02/08/racial_bias_tied_to_levels_of_inflammation_protein/
February 8, 2010
Experiencing frequent racial discrimination, from signs of disrespect to outright harassment, has been linked to poor health. A new study pinpoints one protein that may be involved in higher rates of cardiovascular disease among people facing racial bias.
Tene Lewis of the Yale School of Public Health led a team that asked almost 300 African-Americans, whose average age was 73, about discrimination they felt in their daily lives. The participants filled out questionnaires, had physical exams, answered questions about their medical histories, and gave blood samples that were used to determine levels of C-reactive protein, or CRP. The protein, which increases with inflammation, has been tied to cardiovascular disease.
Participants were divided into high-, moderate- and low-discrimination groups, and those who reported experiencing the highest level of discrimination had CRP values that were 60 percent higher than those in the low-discrimination group, the researchers found.
Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/02/08/racial_bias_tied_to_levels_of_inflammation_protein/
AAAA Hosts Webinar on Academically Gifted Black Males in Higher Education
The American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA) is hosting a Black History Month webinar on academically gifted African-American males who succeed in higher education. The webinar is based on a book authored by Professor Fred Bonner II of the Texas A&M University. The second installment of the 2010 Webinar Series is scheduled for Thursday, February 25, 2010 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST. During this sixty-minutes presentation, Dr. Fred Bonner will discuss his recently released book entitled "Academically Gifted African American Male College Students" which fills a conspicuous void in the research literature on post-secondary education by focusing on success. Like no other work before it, this study goes deep inside the experiences of academically gifted African American men who successfully navigate their way through rigorous college-level programs.
*All registrants will receive a 15% discount to apply toward registration of one future webinar in the AAAA 2010 Webinar Series.
For more details and to register, go to: https://www.regonline.com/faculty_recruitment_and_diversity For more information about PDTI, Webinars or other AAAA programs, please call us toll-free at 1-800-252-8952 or visit http://www.affirmativaction.org/.
*All registrants will receive a 15% discount to apply toward registration of one future webinar in the AAAA 2010 Webinar Series.
For more details and to register, go to: https://www.regonline.com/faculty_recruitment_and_diversity For more information about PDTI, Webinars or other AAAA programs, please call us toll-free at 1-800-252-8952 or visit http://www.affirmativaction.org/.
The book is also available on the AAAA Bookstore. http://www.affirmativeaction.org/bookstore.html
Thank you for your continued support!
Backing for Christian Group in Supreme Court Case
Inside Higher Ed
February 8, 2010
The Christian Legal Society is attracting wide support -- particularly from religious organizations -- in its U.S. Supreme Court battle over whether public colleges and universities can enforce their anti-bias rules against religious groups. In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving the society's chapter at the Hastings College of Law of the University of California. Hastings maintains that it is within its rights to deny recognition to groups, like the society, that engage in forms of discrimination (against gay people, for example) that the university bars. But the society maintains that enforcing such rules violates its freedom of speech and religion.
Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/08/qt#219509
February 8, 2010
The Christian Legal Society is attracting wide support -- particularly from religious organizations -- in its U.S. Supreme Court battle over whether public colleges and universities can enforce their anti-bias rules against religious groups. In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving the society's chapter at the Hastings College of Law of the University of California. Hastings maintains that it is within its rights to deny recognition to groups, like the society, that engage in forms of discrimination (against gay people, for example) that the university bars. But the society maintains that enforcing such rules violates its freedom of speech and religion.
Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/08/qt#219509
Solis Defends Labor Dept. Focus on Enforcement
Workforce Management
February 3, 2010
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis defended her agency’s emphasis on enforcement against Republican charges that regulations hinder job creation at a Capitol Hill appearance on Wednesday, February 3.
In testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee, Solis touted an increase in the number of investigators conducting reviews of private-sector safety and pay practices. The Obama administration budget released on February 1 restores the enforcement staff to its 2001 levels.
Solis argued that it is imperative during tough economic times to crack down on employers who cheat workers out of wages and permit unsafe work environments.
“One way of combating that is to make sure we have troops on the ground,” she said.
She implied that enforcement was lax during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration. She compared reorienting the large agency to changing the direction of an aircraft carrier.
“We’re turning things around in the Department of Labor,” Solis said. “We’re moving every single day. Our rudders are on.”
Worker training also is a priority, according to Solis. She said the Obama administration supports reauthorization this year of the Workforce Investment Act, the law that governs many postsecondary training programs. The administration also is seeking to make the federal training system more streamlined, innovative and responsive to local hiring needs, Solis said.
February 3, 2010
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis defended her agency’s emphasis on enforcement against Republican charges that regulations hinder job creation at a Capitol Hill appearance on Wednesday, February 3.
In testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee, Solis touted an increase in the number of investigators conducting reviews of private-sector safety and pay practices. The Obama administration budget released on February 1 restores the enforcement staff to its 2001 levels.
Solis argued that it is imperative during tough economic times to crack down on employers who cheat workers out of wages and permit unsafe work environments.
“One way of combating that is to make sure we have troops on the ground,” she said.
She implied that enforcement was lax during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration. She compared reorienting the large agency to changing the direction of an aircraft carrier.
“We’re turning things around in the Department of Labor,” Solis said. “We’re moving every single day. Our rudders are on.”
Worker training also is a priority, according to Solis. She said the Obama administration supports reauthorization this year of the Workforce Investment Act, the law that governs many postsecondary training programs. The administration also is seeking to make the federal training system more streamlined, innovative and responsive to local hiring needs, Solis said.
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