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Headlines @ U.Va.
Littlepage Makes (ACC) Conference Call
Big East Conference Commissioner Mike Tranghese’s complaints
that the Atlantic Coast Conference was making overtures to Big
East schools ignited public debate over the merits of ACC expansion.
U.Va. Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage said he would have
to see the details before making a commitment. He suggested that
if expansion happens, he would like to see Virginia Tech invited.
“My feeling is that [Tech has] a lot of qualities that would
make it an attractive candidate,” he said. “We would
not be opposed to Virginia Tech because it’s Virginia Tech,
a rival of ours.”
(Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 30)
Installing
the Scales of Justice
Now that the shooting is mostly finished in Iraq, restoring law
and order is a top priority. But how does one re-establish a legal
system?
Law
professor A.E. Dick Howard, who has helped draft constitutions
for several new nations, says that no matter how elegant the wording,
the success of a constitution will depend upon a stalwart judiciary.
“That
means a constitutional court and judges sufficiently independent
to stand up to pressure. And in the chaos of present-day Iraq,
that could be physical threats. Will the circumstances permit
them to be independent as judges?”
(The Recorder, April 28)
And
Speaking ofLegal Systems ...
With Saddam Hussein gone, families of an estimated 300,000 “disappeared”
Iraqis are emboldened to ask questions about the fates of their
loved ones. Among the curious is fourth-year U.Va. medical student
Athir Morad; three of his brothers were detained two decades ago
in a roundup of Shiite Muslim Kurds during the Iran-Iraq War,
and have not been seen alive for nine years. “We had to be
silent for 20 years out of fear of the Iraqi government,”
Morad said. “... If they’re not there, we want to find
out what happened, how they died. These are horrible things my
parents don’t even want to think about.” (Washington
Post, April 21)
Is
Tenure a “Job for Life”?
A poll published by The Chronicle of Higher Education found widespread
public support for higher education overall, but much less support
for individual elements of it. One element under fire is tenure;
two-thirds of respondents disagreed with the notion of experienced
professors being given “jobs for life,” though most
supported ensuring professors’ academic freedom. Robert M.
O’Neil, executive director of U.Va.’s Thomas Jefferson
Center for the Protection of Free Expression, took issue with
the question’s wording. “Saying that tenure is a job
for life is pejorative and just the worst way to characterize
academic tenure,” he said. “It’s not job security,”
he added, noting that 50 tenured professors were fired for cause
last year.
(The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 2)
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