Flexibility and balance

On attracting and keeping top talent.

Helping scholars balance work and family life is good not only for the professoriate but for the University too: It helps attract and keep top talent. Which is why SCU is pleased to be one of six universities named as a recipient of the 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Faculty Career Flexibility. The award brings $200,000 to expand and enhance flexible career paths for faculty.

The competition was open to more than 300 master’s universities, with nearly 60 schools vying for the awards. The winners were announced in January. At SCU, the grant will support training and workshops for faculty and administrators, and it will be used to develop a series of courses educating undergraduates about work-family convergence in a changing society.

After all, noted Don Dodson, senior vice provost at SCU, “Research shows that discussion on work-life issues is effective when it starts early.”

—DA

First-Time Grads

Overcoming all odds due to the pandemic, the Class of ’24 finally get to experience the graduation that they have long been waiting for.

Brain Games

The therapeutic potential of AI-powered brain implants is no doubt exciting. But questions abound about the inevitable ethical ramifications of putting new, largely unregulated tech into human beings.

Sociology, Gen Ed, and Breaking the Rules

Fewer students are majoring in social sciences but they’re still one of the most popular areas of study. Santa Clara sociologists explain why.