The Future Of College "What is the future of this thing called college? What became quickly and painfully obvious in their deliberations is that the center will not hold. In something of an irony, higher education leaders acknowledged here Thursday that the very system that put them in the position to run the nation's colleges and universities is no longer fit to groom their successors or the rest of the U.S. work force." InsideHigherEd 11/05/09

Who "Advises" The President On The Arts Want to get appointed to the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities? It's a star-studded group. Here's a little something to think about... Politico 11/06/09

Durham, NC, PAC $1M In Black, Gives $400K To City Eight months after opening, "the Durham Performing Arts LLC [has] made a profit of $1,004,265, of which 40 percent, or $401,706, is to be shared with the city, which owns the building." (Who says the arts aren't an economic engine?) The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) 11/05/09

Foundation Giving To Fall More Than 10%, Farther In 2010 "Despite the reduced resources however, more than three-quarters of the survey respondents said the field of philanthropy would become stronger and more strategic as a result of having weathered the financial crisis." Crain's New York Business 11/04/09

The Dreaded Early Morning Lecture Class, Now On Commuter Trains "Passengers on the 9:00 am train from the suburban community of Modiin to Tel Aviv put away their morning tabloids and iPods to listen to a talk from Professor Hanoch Gutfreund [of Hebrew University of Jerusalem] on 'Einstein's love letters.' The lecture was the first of the university's 'scientists on the rails' programme." Agence France-Presse 11/04/09

'From Sanctuary To Snake Pit': A Photographic History Of The Insane Asylum Today the very term "insane asylum" conjures up images of the squalid, cruel institutions portrayed in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Titicut Follies. "But asylums started out as philanthropic dreams," comfortable, well-appointed places of refuge and healing. (Consider the very term "asylum.") New Scientist 10/30/09 (slide show)

UK Culture Secretary Warns Of Tory Threat To The Arts Britain's culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, "said Tory culture policy was totally aligned with the commercial interests of Rupert Murdoch's News International and predicted the central tenet of British cultural policy - the arm's length relationship between the arts and government - is about to be swept away." The Guardian (UK) 11/03/09

Seattle's Giant Magnet Lets Longtime Director Go "Giant Magnet, formerly known as Seattle International Children's Festival, has let go its executive director of 14 years. ... The 23-year-old organization is known mainly for its nearly weeklong festival featuring performers -- theater artists, puppeteers, dancers, musicians -- from around the world." Seattle Times 11/02/09

Deforestation Caused Demise Of Ancient Peruvian Culture "In large part because of the huarango [tree], the Nazca flourished from the time of Christ to about AD 500. They are renowned not just for their geoglyphs -- the giant drawings, whose purpose remains a mystery -- but for their pottery and textiles." Los Angeles Times 11/02/09

Rocco Landesman's Offensive Play "In a freewheeling conversation..., Mr. Landesman was true to form--brashly candid. But his provocative words in both [a recent Brooklyn] speech and our discussion suggest that he doesn't see what's looming between him and the goal--political opponents, waiting to tackle him." Wall Street Journal 11/03/09

Boldface Names Join Obama's Arts Advisory Panel Yo-Yo Ma, Edward Norton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington, Forest Whitaker, Anna Wintour and Alfre Woodard are among those tapped for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, a largely ceremonial panel. Washington Post 11/02/09

The Trouble With Boards "Most board members I meet are scared and frustrated and most staff members believe their board members are not being as generous or as helpful as they should be during this crisis." Huffington Post 11/02/09

Las Vegas Dreams Crash "Over the last two decades, no other American city grew as quickly as Las Vegas. In 1980, it had 460,000 inhabitants; now it has 2 million. But now, the recession has blasted open one of its deepest craters here in this city surrounded by the Mojave Desert. Las Vegas now has the country's highest rate of home foreclosures, and more than 70 percent of homeowners here owe more on their mortgages than their houses or condos are worth. Since 2006, the average home price has dropped by a half." Der Spiegel 10/30/09

José Antonio Abreu Makes The Basic Case For Arts Education "The distribution in the world of arts education is tremendously unjust. When arts education takes the place in our society that it deserves, we will have much less delinquency and violence, and much more motivation towards noble achievement." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/31/09

The Meaning Of Art Is - Who Cares? "The most deadening influence on art in our time is the belief that content matters more than style. If you look back on the artists who have won the Turner prize since the 1980s, or the artists most often mentioned in the media these days, what they have in common is a message." The Guardian (UK) 10/30/09