Penn in the News

They’re almost universally loathed by professors as being too subjective and an unreliable indicator of performance. But beyond that, surprisingly little is known about student evaluations of faculty teaching. How many colleges require them, and what do they ask? How many students complete them, and what effect do they have on instructors’ careers? A committee of the American Association of University Professors wanted to help answer some of the questions, and help stir discussions about a better way to rate professors in the classroom.

Etienne Benson of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses the threat birds posed to the power grid in California in the 1920s.

A program that trained first-year female college students to avoid rape substantially lowered their risk of being sexually assaulted, a rare success against a problem that has been resistant to many prevention efforts, researchers reported Wednesday. Sexual violence is a serious hazard on college campuses. By some estimates, one in five female students are raped, and women tend to be at the greatest risk during their first year on campus.

Pamela G. Powell had a problem. As she administered a final exam in remedial math at the University of Texas at Austin, she reportedly spotted a high-profile basketball player cheating. The player, Martez Walker, a freshman from Detroit, was allegedly snapping pictures of test questions with his phone and looking for answers from someone outside the classroom, according to two former academic advisers informed of the incident.

Postdoctoral fellow Andrea Spaeth and David Dinges of the Perelman School of Medicine are highlighted for researching the effects of after-hours eating.

A university tapped by the White House to lead the charge on sexual assault education and prevention released a report Tuesday on how institutions can best spread awareness of their sexual assault policies and resources. A report from the University of New Hampshire’s Prevention Innovations Research Center found that students who were able to interact with and discuss their college’s policies were more likely to retain information on resources within the institution or be more knowledgeable about the policies themselves.

The University of the Sciences is making another leadership change, but it also will be temporary. Marvin Samson, board chair, is stepping down as interim president, a post he assumed Jan. 1 upon the sudden departure of Helen Giles-Gee after only two and a half years at the helm. Samson, founder and CEO of Samson Medical Technologies, LLC, will remain board chair.

When John A. Paulson gave $400 million to Harvard University last week, many people complained that he hadn’t picked the neediest recipient for his largess. Though the gift is Harvard’s biggest ever, it amounts to only about 1 percent of the institution’s endowment. But that amount would be truly transformational in other areas of higher education. Of course, for a donor as wealthy as Mr. Paulson, who is a Harvard alumnus and founder of a hedge fund that manages $19.5 billion, there are myriad options for bestowing a megagift.

By calling on private-university police forces to expand the range of records they make available to the public, Ohio and Texas are joining a group of states in which lawmakers and the courts have brought reporting requirements at private institutions in line with standards at public ones. The new standards — which arrived in Ohio through a Supreme Court ruling and in Texas through a bill passed by state lawmakers — show broader nationwide conversations about police authority and transparency are trickling down to college campuses.

David Goldberg of the Perelman School of Medicine is quoted about participating in a collaborative study that revealed that organ donation rates vary throughout the United States.