Learning Resources

Abstract: Book review: The Nonprofit Guide to the Internet, by Robbin Zeff. John Wiley & Sons, 1996. 239 pages. ISBN 0-471-15359-1.

Abstract: Considers the recent increase in the number of institutions using debt as a means of financing capital initiatives and managing change. Reviews both strategic considerations, such as the need for new equipment, new construction, and the renovation and maintenance of existing structures, and economic considerations, which are usually linked to the endowment management strategy. Weighs the short- and long-term costs and benefits of using debt as a means of financing new projects on campus.

Abstract: In response to financial cutbacks, many institutions are looking to more aggressive endowment management as one means of increasing operating income. Discusses the need for balance among three factors: the endowment spending rate, the investment policy, and fundraising. However, although institutions seek to enlarge their endowments, they are doing so with an increased emphasis on risk management. Concludes with a discussion of asset allocation, portfolio management, and risk evaluation.

Abstract: In an article excerpted from his inaugural address, Johns Hopkins president William Brody examines a challenge facing all institutions, especially top-ranked research universities: how do new technologies affect institutions in their efforts to discover and disseminate new knowledge? The author suggests three possible effects: increasingly virtual campuses, expanded outlook and outreach, and greater emphasis on lifelong learning.

Abstract: Book Reivew: Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. HArper Collins, 1996. 442 pages. ISBN 0-06-017133-2.

Abstract: Between the master plan and the design of single buildings is a neglected province of microplanning. Subtitles: Rice University remembers; The Cal Tech rediscoveries; Irvine lost and found; Stanford's decline, fall, and recovery; Lessons for microplanning. Pull quotes: "It calls for a different kind of expertise--that of microplanning small compus spaces." "Pelli was able to understand the original vision and reapply it in a contemporary way." "The 3-D computer models were able to propose different building and open space configurations." "Signature buildings have done little to clarify the campus organization." "Colleges need to think small as well as large."

Abstract: Reengineering a faculty's pedagogy and academic programs is hard. But it can be done. Subtitles: From experiments to overhaul; What we learned; Making change natural. Pull quotes: "The students became more actively engaged and less bored." "Naturally some students don't like the new pedagogy and resist the changes." "Reengineering change requires no exemptions." "To justify investments in technology, classroom teaching must change."

Abstract: How traditional and virtual environments can be integrated to alter campus life and learming.