News of the Center and the Program in Higher Education

The Center has received a grant to develop an international handbook on academic administration aimed at providing basic perspectives on higher education for newly appointed senior administrators in developing countries. Many senior academic leaders have little knowledge of the academic enterprise when appointed, and this book will provide a baseline of readings by thoughtful analysts writing from the unique perspective of developing countries.

The Center has also started a new project on the globalization of higher education. Center staff--notably Laura Rumbley, Hong Zhu, and Philippa Thiuri, with the help of Roberta Bassett--will develop a carefully selective and partially annotated bibliography and literature review concerning the rapidly expanding literature this topic.

Our project to put together a guide to women's universities worldwide is nearing completion. Francesca Purcell and Robin Helms are in the process of analyzing the data that have been collected from women's institutions worldwide. Publication of the book is anticipated to occur in summer 2004.

Private Higher Education: Research Trends and Bibliography will be published by mid-2004. This book is the main result of joint research done by the Center and the Program of Research on Private Higher Education at SUNY-Albany. Alma Maldonado-Maldonado is the lead editor of this book, along with Philip Altbach, Daniel C. Levy, Hong Zhu, and Y. Cao.

The Center is organizing, with the Ford Foundation, a conference in early May 2004 on developments in international higher education that will take place at Boston College. This meeting will bring together colleagues from the various programs and centers supported by the Ford Foundation in the field of international higher education for a day of discussion.

The China Ocean University Press will publish a series of six volumes by Philip G. Altbach in Chinese-language translations during the next year or two. Asian Universities: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges, coedited by Philip G. Altbach and Toru Umakoshi of Obirin University in Japan, will be published by the Johns Hopkins University Press at the end of 2004. This book stems from a research project funded by the Toyota Foundation.

Philip G. Altbach spoke recently at the national higher education conference of the National Education Association, in Seattle. Alma Maldonado-Maldonado has been appointed as an adjunct instructor at the Center for Higher Education at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Damtew Teferra, assistant research professor here at the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Higher Education in Africa, who conceived the idea of the journal and implemented it in collaboration with partner institutions in Africa, participated in the official inauguration of the journal at CODESRIA's (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa) 30th anniversary in December 2003 in Dakar, Senegal. 300 guests from around the world attended it. CODESRIA is the partner institution that copublishes the journal with the Center. The table of contents of the first issue and subsequent issues will be available on the website of both institutions. Full access to the website will be available free to African institutions and paid subscribers elsewhere.