Academic Freedom Triumphs, Weiler Wins in French Court

Posted in Legal issues on March 5th, 2011 by steve

“The attempted prosecution of Professor Joe Weiler by a disgruntled academic unhappy with a harsh book review has been dismissed by a French Court …” (more)

[William A Schabas, PhD studies in Human Rights, 5 March]

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In the Dock, in Paris – The Judgment

Posted in Legal issues on March 4th, 2011 by steve

“On March 3, 2011, the Tribunal de Grand Instance de Paris issued its decision in the Criminal Libel Case brought against me based on a complaint by Dr Karine Calvo-Goller. It would appear that the Court ruled in our favor on all issues …” (more)

[EJIL: Talk!, 4 March]

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Journal Editor Wins Libel Case Over Negative Book Review

Posted in Legal issues on March 3rd, 2011 by steve

“A journal editor who was sued in France for criminal libel because of a negative book review has won his case, he told The Chronicle today. Joseph HH Weiler, a professor of law at New York University, said that a French court had ruled against the complaint …” (more)

[Chronicle of Higher Education, 3 March]

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From a Book Review to a Criminal Trial in France

Posted in Legal issues, Research on February 22nd, 2011 by steve

“In a little more than a week, a court in Paris will decide whether a law professor in New York committed criminal libel by publishing a book review …” (more)

[Adam Liptak, New York Times, 21 February]

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Prêt-À-Porter From French Universities

Posted in Governance and administration on February 21st, 2011 by steve

“The souvenir shops outside the Université Paris 1, also known as Panthéon-Sorbonne, have been hawking cheap ‘Paris University’ sweatshirts for years. In the coming weeks, though, the university itself will introduce its own official line of branded clothing, accessories and trinkets, and so join a growing number of French schools adopting one of the pillars of the American collegiate tradition: sales …” (more)

[Scott Sayare, New York Times, 20 February]

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In the Dock, in Paris

Posted in Legal issues on January 27th, 2011 by steve

“My entire professional life has been in the law, but nothing had prepared me for this. I have been a tenured faculty member at the finest institutions, most recently Harvard and NYU. I have held visiting appointments from Florence to Singapore, from Melbourne to Jerusalem. I have acted as legal counsel to governments on four continents, handled cases before the highest jurisdictions and arbitrated the most complex disputes among economic ‘super powers’. Last week, for the first time I found myself in the dock …” (more)

[Joseph Weiler,  EJIL: Talk!, 25 January]

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City universities ‘booming’, says evaluation

Posted in Governance and administration on January 23rd, 2011 by steve

“The French higher education landscape is changing as universities assume greater autonomy, according to the first regional analysis of all France’s universities, published this month …” (more)

[Jane Marshall, University World News, 23 January]

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More universities gain autonomy

Posted in Governance and administration on January 9th, 2011 by steve

“French higher education starts 2011 with a new team at the head of the university presidents conference and the third wave of newly autonomous universities …” (more)

[Jane Marshall, University World News, 9 January]

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Best way to pour champagne? Like beer, professor says

Posted in Life on December 30th, 2010 by steve

“A physics and chemistry professor at the University of Reims in France’s champagne region says the best way to pour bubbly may not be the way sommeliers currently serve the sparkling wine …” (more)

[Toronto Star, 29 December]

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Trinity Librarian honoured by the French Government

Posted in Governance and administration on December 24th, 2010 by steve

“The French Government has awarded the honour of ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ to Dr Charles Benson, Keeper of Early Printed Books and Special Collections in Trinity College Library. The Ordre was established in 1957 to recognise significant contributions to the diffusion and public appreciation of French culture …” (more)

[Trinity Communications Office, 20 December]

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Top researchers lost to the US

Posted in Governance and administration on November 21st, 2010 by steve

“The brain drain of French academics and researchers to the United States has been accelerating in recent years, and although the number is relatively low it tends to be the most talented who choose to move, according to a report from think tank Institut Montaigne …” (more)

[Jane Marshall, University World News, 21 November]

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French University Rankings Draw Praise and Criticism

Posted in Governance and administration on November 15th, 2010 by steve

“A new French government survey that ranks public universities by graduate students’ employment rates after graduation has already earned both praise and criticism from academics …” (more)

[Maïa de la Baume, New York Times, 15 November]

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3 Novembre 2010: La Sorbonne a été occupée!

Posted in Governance and administration on November 5th, 2010 by steve

“La Sorbonne a été occupée aujourd’hui, mercredi 3 Novembre, par une cinquantaine de grévistes. L’action a commencé vers 16h30 par une assemblée générale, a continué par des tours d’information en amphis et salle de TD …” (more)

[Parar Bolonha, 5 November]

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University ranking by job success causes stir

Posted in Governance and administration on October 31st, 2010 by steve

“A ranking of French universities according to their graduates’ job prospects has been published by the Ministry for Higher Education and Research and welcomed by Minister Valérie Pécresse. But the exercise has been criticised by a specialist in graduate employment rates, the body representing university presidents, and by a national students’ federation …” (more)

[Jane Marshall, University World News, 31 October]

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Paris plans science in the suburbs

Posted in Governance and administration on October 22nd, 2010 by steve

“France’s plans to build a science supercampus – Paris-Saclay – a 30-kilometre drive southwest of the capital are shifting into high gear. President Nicolas Sarkozy officially launched the scheme on 24 September in a speech at the Optical Institute Graduate School at Saclay. His ambition is to make Paris-Saclay one of the world’s top universities and science parks by 2020 …” (more)

[Declan Butler, Nature, 20 October]

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French strikes raise fuel fears

Posted in Governance and administration on October 15th, 2010 by steve

“French students stepped up their support action as the third straight day of nationwide strikes over retirement reform also raised fears of possible fuel shortages …” (more)

[Independent, 14 October]

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France Wrestles With Its 2 Tiers of Higher Education

Posted in Governance and administration on October 11th, 2010 by steve

“… Denunciations of the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ bias and arbitrary methodology of the rating systems was a common theme last week, when representatives from some 135 grandes écoles – literally ‘great schools’, the specialized academies of engineering, business, science and management that form the elite of the French higher education system – gathered in Paris for their annual conference …” (more)

[DD Guttenplan, New York Times, 11 October]

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French research budget escapes axe, but not controversy

Posted in Governance and administration on October 2nd, 2010 by steve

“… Valérie Pécresse, the minister for research and higher education, yesterday outlined the details of her ministry’s budget line, claiming it will get an overall €4.7 billion increase on last year’s. But the opposition Socialist Party and scientists trade unions claim that the ministry is using creative accounting to artificially inflate the figures …” (more)

[Declan Butler, The Great Beyond, 1 October]

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An Elite French University Creates an English-Language Campus

Posted in Governance and administration on September 7th, 2010 by steve

“As he wanders around a leafy courtyard in search of his partner for a freshman-orientation bonding exercise, Oliver Musial looks like a typical college student embarking on his studies at any American university. But the setting is a former 17th-century Jesuit college in Reims …” (more)

[Aisha Labi, Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 September]

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Universities overcharging, claims union

Posted in Fees and access on August 8th, 2010 by steve

“A third of French universities are charging students illegal fees, France’s biggest students’ union has claimed. Unef, the Union nationale des étudiants de France, found 26 out of 83 universities were fixing fees higher than those laid down by law, and two more were on the borderline of legality …” (more)

[Jane Marshall, University World News, 8 August]

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