Asim Manizada '13 (Baku, Azerbaijan) weighed in on the merits of a liberal arts degree for the Wall Street Journal's "Real Time Economics" blog. The post talked to WSJ reporters who had graduated from Harvard University, along with 2013 graduates who the meida outlet are following as part of an ongoing project to cover this year’s college grads, asking them to respond to Harvard's report urging the Humanities division to market itself more aggressively to first and second year students, and to demonstrate the ways that a degree in the humanities can prepare students for a successful career. Manizada wrote: "However, I was very surprised by the job market. I thought that having a technical but theory-based background will still be an impediment, but I found that the employers were quick to overlook that and say that they’ll “teach any specialized skills on the job.” A number of my interviewers lamented the lack of solid writing skills in their pool of (otherwise very gifted) technical applicants; I think my liberal arts writing preparation offered me an edge in a number of positions."

Wally Weitz '70, former Board of Trustees chair, is profiled by the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) on his acumen as a stock picker and the challenges associated with running such a firm in the age of index funds. The article says "Mr. Weitz is a stock picker at a time when growing numbers of investors are losing faith in them." Last year, stock investors yanked $127 billion out of actively managed stock mutual funds, while plowing a net $70 billion into index funds and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which are similar to index funds but trade throughout the day instead of just at day's end. Over three years, his Weitz Value mutual fund has outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index by an average of about one percentage point a year and beat about 90% of similar stock funds. Weitz, along with his family, made the lead gift to the Weitz Center for Creativity. The Weitz family is the largest single donor in College history at $25 million, as they also gave $10 million to launch Carleton's $300 million capital campaign, successfully completed in June 2010.

Steve Schier, Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor of Political Science, recently commented in the May 29^th edition of USA Today on the exit of Minnesota’s congresswoman, Michelle Bachmann, from the House of Representatives. Bachmann announced her departure via video this week, and Schier notes that this will be a blow to the Tea Party’s profile. “It’s very important for an insurgent movement like the Tea Party to have spokespeople in the corridors of power. They have to find someone who can rival her media skills. I think it's a problem,'' says Schier.

The April 14 edition of the Christian Science Monitor recently featured an article by Carleton student, Maddy Crowell ’14 (Chicago). The article describes Crowell’s experiences with the protest movements in Morocco that she witnessed during her semester abroad this fall. Two years earlier, Moroccan streets saw tens of thousands of protestors looking to challenge the power of the Moroccan king. Despite the reforms that came about as a result of the movements, activists say little has changed. As Crowell reports, protestors vow to continue to face down threats and keep up pressure for a 'real' democracy.

Bruce Dalgaard, visiting scholar in economics, recently contributed to the article, “Ask the Experts: Taking Stock of the Prepaid Card Market,” featured on CardHub.com. The article analyzed the rise of this new-age checking account, which has been the fastest growing form of electronic payment since 2006. Despite the rapid growth of this non-traditional card, Dalgaard remarks, “Checking accounts, i.e. paper checks, will not disappear quickly, maybe not for a long time.” He says, “In part, this is a cultural demographic. We could equate checks, in a way, to land lines. Some people simply are not comfortable giving up their land line and they won’t be with checks.” However, in spite of initial consumer hesitance, experts conclude that widespread usage will eventually be the norm and that the growth of the prepaid card industry is just getting started.

Ron Rodman, Dye Family Professor of Music, recently had his article “Dinah Shore’s TV Legacy” featured in the March 28 edition of Oxford University Press Blog. The article comes from Rodman’s recent book, Tuning In: American Television Music published by Oxford University Press in 2010.

Steve Schier, Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor of Political Science, recently penned an op-ed featured in the March 29 edition of Politics in Minnesota. In his article, Schier argues that Democrats hold several advantages over Republicans in coming elections. The paper notes that the liberal advantages arise with trends in demographics, globalization, and technological progress. Schier voices concern for the resulting likelihood of “an increasingly unequal society governed by well-meaning liberal elites.” Schier argues that this system of defensive liberalism will attract many more voters than the riskier Republican platforms and to “expect an economically sluggish state and national future, governed by a defensive liberalism that successfully purveys a low-risk agenda.”

The April 1 edition of The Scientist commends the progress made by Todd Golub ’85 in the field of cancer research. Golub and his colleagues have made powerful developments in scrutinizing gene expression profiles to diagnose, classify, and treat cancer. After completing an undergraduate degree at Carleton College in 1985 and an MD at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, Golub began working in cancer research at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. Within just two years, he and his colleague demonstrated that two types of acute leukemia, which clinicians had spent 30 years characterizing, could be classified based exclusively on their gene-expression patterns.

The March 29 edition of the Star Tribune discussed how the process of valedictorian selection has come under fire at many Minnesota high schools. While more schools opt for a weighted GPA system, the road to the valedictorian title can become a strategic venture requiring careful course selection. Many believe the system to be unfair, as even a perfect GPA may not mean the top distinction for high-achieving students. However, Carleton College, along with many other Minnesota private colleges, have noted that the valedictorian title does little to sway admissions decisions. As Paul Thiboutot, Carleton vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, confirms, “By itself, a GPA, or being valedictorian is not the critical determining factor [in the selection process.]”

Fred Rogers '72, vice president and treasurer, is featured along with his son, Matthew, in a March 25 New York Times article about college tuition prepayment plans. The Private College 529 Plan allows participants to prepay tuition at private colleges and universities at today’s rates. Fred Rogers set up the plan for his granddaughter shortly after she was born. The money in the plan can be used towards tuition at one of the 273 member schools. If Rogers' granddaughter, Kyra, decides not to enroll in one of those member institutions, he can change the beneficiary to another relative or family member can use it, or he can request a refund.