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	NOVEMBER 8, 2004
	In this issue
	News
	Scientist gets $2.6 million to research marine bacteria

	Meigs teaching award is elevated to professorship

	Two UGA faculty elected Fellows of AAAS, national science association

	MacArthur Fellow Judy Pfaff visits School of Art

	UGA plans International Education Week events

	Teaching Academy anniversary commemorated

	Pack MULEs: UGA scientists discover that some transposable elements in rice often carry fragments of other genes when they reproduce themselves

	NSF grant funds study of evolutionary game theory

	Faculty of Engineering hosts first conference

	Blowing hot and cold: Shop makes scientific glassware for UGA’s research community

	Summer service

	Around Academe
	Worth Repeating
	Go Figure
	Digest
	UGA Guide
	Kudos
	Newsmakers
	Campus Closeup
	Faculty Profile
	Administrative Changes
	Retirees
	Update: Private Giving
	Forum
	Questions&Answers
	Weekly Reader
	Cybersights
	Bulletin Board

	Back Issues
	Publication Dates
	Contact Us

AROUND ACADEME

Nigerian university revokes diplomas
The University of Port Harcourt has revoked more than 7,200 diplomas of former students after discovering alleged academic fraud by those students. The graduates are all accused of either falsifying records or cheating on exams. The president of the university claimed that corruption and fraud are rampant at Nigerian universities, and has put a zero-tolerance policy in place at his institution. Independent higher education groups have agreed with the president’s statement.

Judge rules colleges must warn network users of possible lawsuits
A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that Internet providers within that judicial district, including colleges, must notify users suspected of illegal file-sharing when charges are pending against them, and must also inform them of their legal rights. This ruling comes in response to record companies’ subpoenas requesting lists of names of users who have been identified only by their e-mail addresses. The ruling has not hindered the filing of lawsuits by the recording industry; 750 people were recently accused of illegal song trading, 25 of them identified as users of college networks.

Congressman calls for dismissal of Columbia professor
Middle East studies professor Joseph A. Massad of Columbia University has been criticized by New York Congressman Anthony D. Weiner for anti-Semitic statements allegedly made during his classes.The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Weiner accused Massad of likening Israel to Nazi Germany, saying that Israel did not have the right to exist as a state, and asking an Israeli student, “How many Palestinians have you killed?” In response to the charges made by the congressman, Columbia’s president issued a statement regarding both academic freedom and academic integrity at the school, saying that Columbia upholds the ideals of freedom of expression but draws the line when students feel threatened by a professor’s actions or when behavior crosses over into political indoctrination. So far more than 700 people have signed a petition in defense of Massad and his career, and a colleague has stated that Massad was never notified of any formal complaints issued against him.

U. of California will get millions from settlement of Enron case
The University of California and other investors will receive a $222.5 million class-action settlement from Lehman Brothers, one of the Wall Street financial firms tied to the Enron scandal. The settlement must be approved by the court before payments will be made, and each payment will be in proportion to the amount of money lost by each plaintiff. The university lost about $145 million on its Enron investments. Other settlements won by the university for Enron-related losses include a settlement with Bank of America for $69 million and one with Arthur Andersen’s international branch for $40 million.

—Susan Myers

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