- After the University of Leicester鈥檚 Richard III jamboree last year, the University of Winchester has apparently gone one better by finding Alfred the Great. Well, a small fragment of his pelvis at least, the Daily Mail reported on 17聽January. Thanks to dogged work by human osteology researcher Katie Tucker, an unpromising chunk of bone excavated from the grounds of Hyde Abbey in Winchester in 1999, and left in a box in the city鈥檚 museum, has now been identified as belonging to the Anglo-Saxon ruler, who died in 899, or to his son, Edward the Elder. 鈥淚t overshadows the discovery of Richard III鈥檚 remains,鈥 said television historian Neil Oliver pointedly, adding that Alfred is a 鈥渕ythologised figure, almost like Arthur鈥.
- Vice-chancellors in the UK often look enviously across the pond at the pay awarded to their US peers. But they might be less enamoured with the conditions foisted on Gwendolyn Boyd when she became the first female president of Alabama State University. According to The Times on 14聽January, Dr Boyd鈥檚 contract stipulates 鈥渟he shall not be allowed to cohabitate in the president鈥檚 residence with any person with whom she has a romantic relation鈥. The rule will remain in place 鈥渇or as long as Dr Boyd is president and a single person鈥. Dr聽Boyd said she is happy to accept the somewhat puritan terms of office, but others are less happy about the intrusion into her privacy. 鈥淭his woman is not a criminal, she鈥檚 not a prisoner,鈥 said contract lawyer Raymond Cotton, who believes the veto on personal relations by Alabama may be unconstitutional.
- Students at University College, Oxford who performed poorly in their exams have complained they were 鈥減ublicly humiliated鈥 after their names and results were emailed to their peers, The Times reported on 15聽January. The list of the 50 or聽so worst-performing students 鈥 those achieving a 2:2 grade or lower in their pre-Christmas exams 鈥 was mistakenly sent to hundreds of students, the paper said. 鈥淚聽was pretty gutted after my results last term, but didn鈥檛 realise I聽would be publicly humiliated,鈥 one student said. It seems the days when students laughed off a聽鈥淒esmond鈥 (2:2) or a 鈥淭hora鈥 (a聽third) are well and truly gone.
- Student leaders have criticised the University of Cambridge for handing a fee discount to Prince William, the Sunday Mirror reported on 19聽January. The Duke of Cambridge is paying about 拢10,000 for a 10-week course in agricultural management, but 鈥渟ources鈥 say it would usually cost far more because it has been organised especially for him, the paper said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not as though the Queen has had to remortgage Buckingham Palace to help him through university,鈥 said Dom Anderson, vice-president of the National Union of Students, who said there were 鈥渕ore deserving postgraduate students in Cambridge than the heir to the British throne鈥. The university and Kensington Palace refused to comment on any fee discount, but the Prince will surely pass on his appreciation for the waiver when he next arrives for class, perhaps in his newly acquired 拢250,000 Bentley.
- Popular science writer Lewis Wolpert has apologised for accidentally lifting large sections of other people鈥檚 work without citing the sources, The Observer reported on 19聽January. The eminent developmental biologist, who is in his mid-eighties, said he had inadvertently included direct passages from academic papers, websites and Wikipedia in his 2011 book, You鈥檙e Looking Very Well, having downloaded them for research purposes, but then failed to recognise them as other people鈥檚 work. The 鈥渓ack of attribution鈥 was 鈥渄ue to carelessness on my part鈥, said Professor Wolpert, whose publisher Faber and Faber declined to comment on whether his age had contributed to the error. Ironically, one of Wolpert鈥檚 uncredited passages sums up rather well his current predicament: 鈥淓lderly people鈥oday are not treated to the respect and reverence to which they were accustomed earlier in history,鈥 he (or should that be US psychology professor Alan Pope?) wrote.
Register to continue
Why register?
- Registration is free and only takes a moment
- Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
- Sign up for our newsletter
Subscribe
Or subscribe for unlimited access to:
- Unlimited access to news, views, insights & reviews
- Digital editions
- Digital access to 罢贬贰鈥檚 university and college rankings analysis
Already registered or a current subscriber?
Please or to read this article.