Academic life

Senior faculty are trying to prove their worth by making the lives of others so unpleasant that they agree to leave. It is time to call them out, says Aymen Idris

As political turmoil mounts in India, Jamia Millia Islamia v-c says she will protect students, but suspend those who go ‘too far’

China studies programmes and language courses are on the decline, just as understanding of the superpower is needed most

Judges find university’s policy of compulsory retirement at 68 not ‘proportionate’ as aims not proven

The UK’s ‘rock star historian’ Peter Frankopan talks to Matthew Reisz about his ambitious follow-up to his Silk Roads chronicle and the perils of being seen as a modern-day sage

Students at prominent all-female college vote to endorse admission of transgender male and non-binary students, but leadership refuses

Academics left ‘traumatised’ by ‘absurd’ and ‘Byzantine’ corporate booking systems that drain departmental travel funds

Those focused on dissecting pop culture face hostility from politicians, the media and fellow academics, but their work remains vital, ‘Kylie scholar’ Liz Giuffre tells Rosa Ellis

‘Mother of ERA’ now charting its demise, as the ‘law of diminishing returns’ prompts a rethink

University leadership attempts to restart in-person operations but students still in mourning say ‘we aren’t ready’

Processing delays affecting guests from Global South put future of major academic events in country at risk

Union calls for criminalisation of ‘wage theft’ with jail time for worst offenders

Legal action seen as ‘the only way’ to force universities to stop ‘divesting responsibility’, senate committee hears

Five others left in critical condition in latest episode of US gun violence

Debates rage about the appropriateness of objects displayed in many anthropological exhibitions amid accusations they perpetuate poisonous imperialist narratives. However, Adam Kuper believes institutions should be wary of capitulating to activist demands, he tells Matthew Reisz

Face-to-face classes suspended yet again as downpours dampen return to normality

It is compromising to instruct business students on the best ways of doing things but not to experience them in situ, says a lecturer and former CEO

Casual encounters are a chance to correct the public's irritating assumption that political science is all about elections, says Christopher Hallenbrook

When her broadcasting career took off in her mid-fifties, Mary Beard became one of Britain’s best-known and most-discussed academics. Jack Grove speaks to the retiring Cambridge classicist about her eventful career, including her run-ins with sexist TV critics, Twitter trolls and Boris Johnson

Tymofiy Mylovanov has found fame, funding and support for students via his day-in-the-life tweets

New government policy to limit academic brain drain from struggling regions seen as unlikely to succeed in face of powerful trends

The University of Rural England’s wildly popular moggie mascot, Mr Tibbles, has disappeared and suspicion falls on the vice-chancellor. As the frenzy mounts, can our lovelorn hero save his reputation, his job, his relationship and perhaps even his mortal flesh in time for Christmas? John Gilbey tells the tale

Young people face one of the most challenging periods for coming of age in history. Academics should do all they can to help them, says Harvey Graff

Times Higher Education journalists name the academics and administrators at the heart of the sector’s biggest debates over the past 12 months

Move by Afghan government ‘opens door’ for more of its supporters to become lecturers, scholars fear

Claim by University of Essex law academics that ‘anti-trans’ speakers could ‘contaminate’ buildings branded ‘misogyny’ by critics

What makes a sabbatical special any more, asks professor, if it is a continuation of the demands of academic life rather than a break from them

Political scientist Jack Williams’ debut novel draws on his experiences as a PhD student at Princeton and Zurich

Elon Musk’s ‘de facto town square’ is a place where misinformation abounds and where academia is often attacked by culture warriors. But is fighting back effective? Or can it make things worse if academics don’t keep calm and stick to the facts? Tom Williams reports 

The campus security desk is often the first and last port of call for jet-lagged and far-from-home students, says George Bass 

Support of Council for At-Risk Academics has brought some researchers to safety in the UK, but even new-found security can be bittersweet

Overloaded slides, peculiar body language and speech that is too quick, slow, quiet or relentless are all easily fixed, says Brian Bloch

Building a publishing platform that allows scholars to earn from sales of their papers has put all Pooja Sawrikar’s rage to good use 

Five years ago, a THE poll painted a bleak picture of work-life balance in the academy. Has the subsequent rise of homeworking eased the pressure? Or are ever-increasing workloads outweighing any benefits of flexibility? Tom Williams reports on our survey of 1,200 university staff

Point-in-time study quantifies pandemic’s differential impacts on academics with children – particularly mothers

The emphasis on bringing in money above all else is killing researchers’ passion for discovery, says Aymen Idris

The world’s problems are too big for one sector to figure out: academics must team up with doers in fair, equal partnerships, says Carmen Geha

Even if conditions are not right for the development of a ‘slow university’, we need at least to walk in that direction, says David Alexander

This year’s Maddox Prize winner shows how community-led research can help communities escape polarised debates over scientific evidence

If we tenured professors do not hold ourselves to agreed standards, we will find ourselves being refereed by demagogues, says Robert Zaretsky

Scholarship that does not acknowledge the legitimacy of alternative views is inimical to knowledge generation, says Katy Barnett

America’s two-year public colleges are often romanticised as engines of social mobility and the epitome of the educative mission. But one academic has found the reality to be very different, with callous management failing students and staff in equal measure

Is working humane hours at a humane pace possible for anyone in a British university, asks Sarah Colvin

After spikes in participation in recent polls, students’ role as a key voting bloc is under increased scrutiny in upcoming elections

Move designed to ‘support 21st-century families’ and help institution remain competitive despite ‘historically high turnover rates’

Scholars from the Global South have vastly fewer international options than those from the Global North, says Srila Roy

Higher education institutions around the world mark passing of UK’s longest-reigning monarch

Major THE poll considers pressures on academic and administrative staff, how this has changed in recent years and what can be done to improve matters

Embassies in dozens of countries now accepting visa applications, but many students still in the dark over anticipated move

Institutions told to ‘join up’ response with local officials, to have emergency medical care and forensic testing procedures in place

Grant delays worse than ever, researchers say, as ARC strives to meet demands of ousted government

National interest test for research grants to be simplified amid sweeping review of ARC

Chapters’ severing of campus affiliation predicted to show US sector’s reluctance to challenge ‘Greek life’ abuses

Researchers say using improvisational comedy can improve their ability to communicate findings

Yes, in-person interaction has benefits, but ending online accessibility will close the door again on those unable to travel, says Alexandra Ridgway

But preoccupation with the mundane sidelines universities from the main game, according to vice-chancellors

A bitter feud between the head of one of Oxford’s grandest colleges and its dons made front-page news. As a new, internally recruited vice-chancellor prepares to take office, Jack Grove hears from both the dean at the centre of the dispute and those who are glad to see him gone

Four decades as professor and campus vice-president, with a stint in Italy, has Robert Berne seeing parallels to global intrigue and prison life

The sense of purpose and connection that a busy academic life confers is not easily replaced. You may cry, says Helen Lees

Goldsmiths’ reduction of people to expendable costs corrodes the necessary conditions for learning. I’m leaving, says Les Back