Foreign scholars get longer visas
Some foreign scholars coming to the U.S. are now eligible for five-year visas, the State Department announced last week.

Scholars who hold J visas under the department’s Exchange Visitor Program, can enter and leave the U.S. an unlimited number of times over five years, instead of the previous three-year cap. However, visitors must wait two years between receiving the new visas and scholars who have held another nonimmigrant visa within the previous year are not eligible to participate.

The extension was decided almost 18 months ago, but the policy shift was delayed to allow the Department of Homeland Security to make necessary changes.

Ohio science profs turn political
In an unusual move, 75 science professors at Case Western Reserve University have decided to publicly endorse a candidate for Ohio’s Board of Education, The New York Times reported.

The professors threw support behind former congressman Tom Sawyer in a race against Deborah Owens Fink because Fink has been critical of evolutionary theory.

Fink also has led efforts to adopt a public school curriculum for the state that would cast severe doubt on evolution teachings. So far, she has not been successful.