Late last month, formed National Endowment for the Humanities Chair William Ferris opined in the New York Times that the Obama administration needs a cabinet-level position "to provide more cohesive leadership" for several federal cultural institutions and programs, including "the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, NPR, PBS and the Smithsonian Institution." Pundits who are usually eager to weigh in on presidential cabinet

A couple of days ago, Dr. Isis provided advice to a self-described "overweight girl lacking even a pretty face" about the ways women scientists (or any scientists) can get noticed: by doing brilliant science and packaging it effectively. Her post reminded me of a discussion also involving Dr. Isis--and one that focused in part on the packaging of women as scientists and as science bloggers. The challenge of Dr. Isis

In museums, who gets to represent whose culture? It's an old question that in the U.S. tends to play out most publicly when Native American patrimony and culture are displayed in museums. When such cultural controversies become global, often ownership comes into question--who really owns the Elgin Marbles, for example?

In an economy marked by rampant layoffs and the slow death of entire industries, many adults are wondering if now is the time to go back to school for further technical training, to finish a bachelor's degree, or to pursue a graduate or professional degree. The answer? It depends. It depends on your reason for going back to school. To update your skills?

At the university, whose work is more valuable--a professor's or an administrative assistant's? In a time of budget cuts, should the professor--who might make vastly more than the administrative assistant--be expected to sacrifice proportionately, or should academics be immune from the slings and arrows of budgetary fortune? These and other issues have been raised these past few weeks during a wide-ranging discussion in the academic blogosphere.