Free Republic

Pennsylvania State University is hiring a new assistant professor of architecture but is asking applicants to show their commitment to "anti-racism and anti-oppression." The description for the job states that the position is "focused on architectural materials, construction methods and processes."While the position is for applicants with a background in architecture, the posting states that the "ideal candidate" will work to "establish a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression.""The College of Arts & Architecture is working to establish a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression that embraces individual identities, fosters a culture of inclusion and promotes equity through curricula, values, standards, ideals,...

It has mystified historians ever since. After a string of major victories, the Mongol army suddenly retreated from central Europe in 1242. Some scholars claim Mongolian politics forced the withdrawal, while others credit the strength of fortified towns in present-day Hungary and Croatia. But Europe could have been rescued by its own bad weather, an analysis of tree rings and historical documents concludes. The Mongol cavalry fed its horses on the grass of the Eurasian steppe, says Nicola Di Cosmo of Princeton University, one of the study’s authors. A warm climate in the early 1200s helped make the grasslands lush...

Top Salaries Revealed Pennsylvania’s Right To Know Law, signed by Governor Rendell back in February 2008 has forced four Universities in the Commonwealth to divulge information about the 25 highest paid employees. The Universities that fall under this Act include Temple, Pitt, Lincoln and Penn State. According to Section 1503 of the law (I took out the irrelevant parts): The report required under section 1502 shall include the following: (2) The salaries of all officers and directors of the State-related institution. (3) The highest 25 salaries paid to employees of the institution that are not included under paragraph (2). Reports...

For centuries, people have puzzled over lemmings, the northern rodents whose populations surge and crash so quickly and so regularly that they inspired an enduring myth: that lemmings commit mass suicide when their numbers grow too large, eagerly pitching themselves off cliffs to their death in a foamy sea. Scientists debunked that notion decades ago. But they have never been certain what causes the rapid boom-and-bust cycles that gave rise to it. Now, in a study of collared lemmings in Greenland, being published today in the journal Science, a team of European researchers report that the reason has nothing to...