Harvard ditches the data for its dishes
Harvard students are dining in the dark - as far as the nutritional contents of their meals go.
The university recently eliminated the decade-old index cards that detailed the number of grams of fat, serving size, carbohydrate content, and calories of each dining hall dish. Harvard made the move after students and parents expressed concern that such displays could contribute to or worsen eating disorders.
Students can still look up nutritional information online or in dining hall kiosks.
The Duke knows
For policy wonks and politicos still excited after Thursday's vice-presidential debate, a weekly course at Northeastern University could be the perfect answer - a seminar on issues facing the country's next president, taught by a former presidential candidate.
Offered each Wednesday, "Policy Advice to the Next President" is taught by Michael S. Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee who now teaches political science at Northeastern, and Robert Culver, the president of MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development agency.
Free and open to the public, the class invites students and community members to voice their opinions about the challenges facing the next administration, and asks a lineup of specialists to offer their expertise.
The class, which began last month, has consistently drawn well over 100 people, the vast majority of whom are residents. The second in the university's "open classroom" series, it follows last spring's "21st Century City" seminar, which featured guests such as Mayor Thomas Menino and Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis.
So far, the class has covered topics ranging from energy security and global warming to economic growth and sustainability. This Wednesday's class, which focuses on infrastructure investment, will be taught by Dukakis and feature Fred Salvucci, an MIT professor and former state transportation secretary.
The Policy Advice class has scheduled a star-studded lineup, at least relative to the world of think tanks and public policy. Speakers will include Paul Reville, the state's education secretary; Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; Andrew J. Bacevich, an international relations professor at Boston University; and David Gergen, a political analyst and adviser to several presidents. The class runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in 20 West Village F on the Northeastern campus. For more information, visit www.policyschool.neu.edu.
Aid to vets
A veterans group and Mount Wachusett Community College are poised to begin work on a residential rehabilitation center for returning combat veterans.
The $8 million facility, believed to be the first free residential treatment center for injured veterans and their families on a college campus, will serve veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who have lost limbs, suffered traumatic brain injuries, or been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress.
Organizers, college officials, and legislators held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Sept. 26 at the 10-acre site, which Mount Wachusett is donating to Veteran Homestead, a Fitchburg nonprofit group.
Founded in 1993 by Leslie Lightfoot, an Army medic during the Vietnam War and the mother of two daughters who have served in Iraq, the nonprofit provides housing, hospice care, rehabilitation, and counseling services to veterans in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico.
Called the Northeast Veteran Training & Rehabilitation Center, the privately funded facility will include 10 duplex housing units and a rehabilitation center to treat wartime injuries.
"We have an obligation to make them whole," State Senator Stephen M. Brewer said at the groundbreaking.
Officials at the Gardner college expect the facility to open in January 2010.
Open season
The gloomy economic forecast is hitting home at Harvard. No hiring freeze has been announced. Construction of the Allston science complex is proceeding as planned. And the endowment is still fat.
But the Business School's annual Predators' Ball, scheduled for later this month, has been canceled. Now how will students network for investment opportunities?
Campus Insider runs on alternate Sundays with Ask the Teacher, an advice column. To submit tips to Campus Insider, contact Peter Schworm at schworm@globe.com and Tracy Jan at tjan@globe.com. 