News of the Week – October 30, 2026
This week’s issue is curated by Kara Morrow. Kara is a Professor of Art History and Museum Studies at The College of Wooster.
Teaching & Learning
Don’t Worry About Professors’ Rules, AI Executive Tells Students (Delilah Brumer, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 22, 2026): AI tutoring company, which had partnered with the SUNY university, sent hundreds of students an email, raising concerns about faculty control over AI policies in their classrooms.
Overcome reading reluctance with in-class tasks (Noam Schimmel, University of California, Berkeley, Times Higher Education, October 22, 2026): “While no replacement for tackling long texts, short reading sessions build confidence, boost students’ learning and improve their analysis, synthesis and discussion.”
Campus Talks: Teaching strategies to get students reading and speaking up in class (David Gooblar, Eliza Compton, University of Iowa, Campus Talks by Times Higher Education [Podcast], October 22, 2026): Eyes need a break from the screen? Take a listen to this podcast with a thoughtful conversation on “ways to create more equitable classrooms, build students’ trust and support academic skills development.”
Connecting Through Chat ([John Kane &] Rebecca Mushtare, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at SUNY Oswego talking with Greg Campbell, English Dept., Community College of Baltimore County, tea for teaching, October 21, 2026 [Podcast]): “Discussion boards in learning management systems, particularly in the age of AI, rarely capture the authentic voice of students. In this episode, Greg Campbell joins us to discuss how the use of a chat application can motivate conversation and build community.”
Budgets & Higher Ed’s Business Model: What They’re Reading & Saying “Off-Campus”
How College Leaders are Navigating Federal Pressures (Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Stephen Henriques, Time Magazine, November 11, 2025): As someone who is deeply invested in understanding higher ed’s business model and the particular economic, political and cultural challenges we’re currently facing, I’m often surprised at the characterizations of our industry “off campus.” More and more frequently students call on faculty to explain these dynamics. This article appeared in Time Magazine almost one year ago and provides an interesting view into our experiences from the perspective of our students’ and their families.
The Business Model of College Is Broken. It’s About to Get Worse (Jeffrey Selingo, Time Magazine, July 2, 2026): Following up on the Time article above, this succinct follow up frames current circumstances and campus conversations, especially in light of additional federal pressures.
Tidbits: The Fate of College Teaching Collections
The Price of Closing a University Museum (Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, October 26, 2026): Nearly all GLCA member colleges maintain formal art collections, and multiple institutions depend on academic, teaching-focused museums for pedagogical support. Yet academic museums across the U.S. are threatened. With a $2.4 million state budget cut looming, Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History was slated to close despite its 125-year history.
Fort Hays State Rescinds Natural History Museum Closure (Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed, October 28, 2026): Oh, wait! “Word of the Kansas university’s decision to close the Sternberg Museum of Natural History sparked community outrage. The reversal offers hope to others fighting to keep the Academy of Natural Science at Drexel alive.”
Embarking on the Academy of Natural Sciences’ Next Chapter: Protecting a Legacy (Academy of Natural Sciences, September 25, 2026): “For more than two centuries, the Academy of Natural Sciences has helped people understand our natural world though its extraordinary collections, groundbreaking research and commitment to discovery and learning.” The public exhibitions are slated to close.
Preparing for the Election
There’s Still Time to Prepare for the Morning After Election Day (Nancy L. Thomas, Inside Higher Ed, October 26, 2026): Consider this checklist for the days—and weeks—after.
Election Resources for Higher Education from the Constructive Dialogue Institute: As November 3 approaches, CDI’s election resources offer practical guidance for campus leaders, faculty and staff, and civic engagement and dialogue centers. An on-demand webinar also features three administrators reflecting on what they learned preparing for 2024.
About the Art
Amy Karle, Hatcher, (Triceratops), Deep Time and the Far Future, 2020.
Artist Amy Karle created nine sculptures in two series examining the possibilities of reconstructive technologies and the potential and the pitfalls of future evolution that come with technological advancements. The sculptures are based on the 66-million-year-old Triceratops at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, which made history as the first “digital dinosaur”—the first 3D scan of an entire dinosaur skeleton executed by the Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office.”