NEW COMPUTERS FOR FACULTY: About 150 to 200 faculty members at Case Western Reserve University will get the new computers they say they need to teach students today. To be eligible for a new desktop or laptop, faculty members must teach undergraduates, have a computer more than three years old, and submit a proposal explaining how they would use the new computer in their instruction. The President’s Discretionary Fund for Undergraduate Education and the Hewlett Fund for Undergraduate Education are providing the funds for the computers.

HELP FOR THE SANDWICH GENERATION: The University of Maryland knows many of its faculty and staff—and some students too—are being pulled by both the need for day care for the kids and a senior center for mom and dad. They’re now working with the state to create the Intergenerational Center (IGC) that would house an adult day care center, a drop-in child care center and an information resource center. Its mission is to serve the campus and surrounding communities by providing “age-integrated academic courses, services and programs aimed at addressing issues of family and community life.”

CHANGES IN ENGLISH LIT: Faculty at the University of Virginia decided three years ago that students needed more English and this year a three-course requirement to graduate is in full effect. The rationale for the decision is to emphasize “literature in English, not English literature,” said Gordon Braden, English professor and chair. Students now must take History of English Literature I, II, and III. Students now also get a mix of medieval and modern and British and American. And the new curriculum includes works written in English in regions such as Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. In addition to boosting English literature exposure for students, the three mandatory classes also have helped lower upper level class sizes for majors.

TEACHING TIPS ONLINE: This summer University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty can get online to learn more about innovative lesson plans and teaching techniques. The online chat, “Innovation in Teaching: Novel Approaches to Knotty Problems,” features proceedings workshops exploring universal dilemmas in teaching, from personalizing lecture formats to inspiring better classroom discussion. ¶