Feature

Dave Berque, a computer science professor at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., got an odd wake-up call years ago when he was teaching a large class at an East Coast institution. He tried to get the class involved in the lesson; he tried asking questions; he tried urging them to ask questions. For the first four weeks, no interaction from students.

Then, one day in the fifth week, he had five or six people raise their hands. Unfortunately, it was not to ask questions, but to tell him the ceiling lights had caught fire.

What's the harm in the occasional drip from a ceiling or crack in a sidewalk? For colleges and universities, plenty. Consider these scenarios:

Potential liabilities. Life safety or code violations, such as improper ventilation in science labs, non-compliance with respect to ADA, or trip hazards as a result of deteriorating sidewalks or ragged flooring, expose the institution to potential legal action.

Star quarterbacks? Nobel laureates? Once upon a time, these people were the big deals on campuses. Now they have to make room for the new star, the endowment's hedge fund manager.

Advancement directors are a lot like gamblers. They can easily recall the vivid details of their "wins"--even years after the fact.

Take Brenda Babitz, president of the Monroe Community College (N.Y.) Foundation. When she came on board 15 years ago, she worked to create an alumni database to be used for telemarketing--a new endeavor for the community college. Several years later, she nervously spent $7,000 on research that would help identify those who had attended Monroe and who might be able to donate.

Fifty-year-old Melissa Grill is a prime example of today's distance learner. While working in the computer lab of a North Carolina community college, she earned a master's degree in information and telecommunications systems management from Capitol College, based in Laurel, Md.

Some people wear T-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with their alma mater's name. Others display bumper stickers on their cars. The younger set may even stick athletic shorts on their bumpers, proudly bearing a school's logo for all the world (walking behind them) to see.

College pride comes in all forms, and it's something universities have taken to the bank, quite literally, thanks to that overwhelming desire for people to buy items with their university's name.

While planning its wireless implementation, tech leaders at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., hadn't given much thought to security issues until a guest speaker at a college-sponsored conference complimented the college's chief information officer, Robert Renaud, on the excellent wireless service.

Faculty and staff at Southern Methodist University in Dallas gathered on Monday afternoon for an emergency response session that had been scheduled for months. Little did they know how quickly they would put the lessons to use.

Research institution leaders who keep on thinking that any company is dying to spend its research dollars on their institution just might wind up in the dog house (or somewhere close to it). Or at least that's what one university president believes.

Today, a U.S. research university has to contend with distinguished IHEs abroad that have qualified students and lower costs of conducting research and developing innovative products. This, in turn, has driven companies to venture abroad for research talent. It has even spurned some foreign companies that do their own R&D.