The University Senate of Towson University made faculty members' votes in tenure decisions anonymous in an effort to make voting practices consistent across university departments, Inside Higher Ed reported. A secret ballot system will be implemented in lieu of conventional university methods, because while faculty members are requested not to reveal their votes for candidates applying for tenure, the information occasionally circulates among faculty. Towson's new policy will use ballots marked only with the committee member's university identification number. While some praise the new policy for removing pressures such as interpersonal conflicts, critics have raised concerns about a resulting atmosphere of distrust or lack of accountability with the increased secrecy, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Yale University and the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco signed an agreement on Friday to create a center in Cusco, Peru, that will exhibit Inca artifacts currently owned by Yale, the Yale Daily News reported. This center is part of a Nov. 23 memorandum of understanding between Yale and the Peruvian government to return the pieces by 2012. The center will be responsible for preserving the artifacts and making them available to the public. The agreement will also promote academic exchange for faculty and students between the two institutions, including fellowships and financial support. The objects numbering in the thousands are the result of three expeditions to Peru in 1898 by Yale archeologist Hiram Bingham III. The Peruvian government sued Yale in 2008 for illegally obtaining the artifacts, according to the Yale Daily News.
Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wisc., announced a new measure that would reduce state employees' benefits in an attempt to ensure fiscal stability and earn back a $137 million debt in Wisconsin's budget on Friday, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. In accordance with the new legislation, collective bargaining rights of faculty and staff of the University of Wisconsin rights that were recently gained in 2009 would also be denied. Under the plan, employees would have to give half of their pension to the government approximately 5.8 percent of their income and the amount that employees pay for health care premiums would increase to 12.6 percent from the current 6 percent rate. The measure is scheduled to be introduced in the state legislature on Feb. 17, and is expected to pass due to Republicans' majority in both chambers, The Chronicle reported.
