News and Notes

Dean of the Carroll School of Management Andrew Boynton was heavily quoted in the press this week after issuing statements saying that the nation is in need of a "virtuoso team" of financial policy experts to engineer the recovery of the American economy. "We're talking about changing the rules of the game about how the U.S. financial system works," Boynton told reporters. "That job needs a team of superstars unleashed on this single mission and unafraid to consider ideas and potential solutions without regard to politics, clashing market philosophies, or Wall Street cliques. That's what a virtuoso team can do."

ON CAMPUS Lynch School graduates aid Boston parochial schools Boston College graduate students involved in the Urban Catholic Teaching Corps attend the Lynch School of Education (LSOE) for free, and in exchange work for two years in Boston's Catholic elementary and high schools, providing an influx of new teachers to some struggling schools. "It's introducing a new generation of teachers to an urban setting and creating a pipeline of young teachers to Catholic schools," Michael J. James, executive director of the Center for Catholic Education at the LSOE told reporters. "We're looking at this for the long-term." The program is one of many across the nation that place young teachers in parochial schools.

UNIVERSITIES Wachovia freezes college funds, small schools hit hardest Wachovia Bank has taken action to freeze funds used by more than 900 colleges. The freeze most affects schools that invest their endowment through Commonfund, a short term investment fund many schools rely on for payroll and other operating expenses. Verne O. Sedlacek, president and chief executive of Commonfund, told reporters that the freeze leaves some schools wondering if they will have funds to pay their staff. Wachovia, a trustee of the fund, announced Monday that the bank was resigning from that position. Edward F. Leonard III, president of Bethany College, told the Chronicle of Higher Education, "All colleges ride a cash roller coaster, but the smaller colleges, like Bethany, we feel those bumps more than others do."

Washington University mixes politics with cookie dough Wahington University in St. Louis is tracking the sale of donkey- and elephant-shaped cookies to see if there is a correlation between the sales and voting trends. The whimsical sociological experiment has the potential to become something of a tradition on the campus, as they had a similar baked goods sales in 2004. The university has also played host to a vice-presidential debate in the election years that the cookies were sold. "It may not be the most scientific way to predict an election winner, but it might be the tastiest," the university said in a press release. The cookies representing each party will go on sale Nov. 3, the day before the election

UNDER REPORTED Obesity epidemic apparently now threatens other mammals Dolphins gone a bit to seed have been put on a diet at a Japanese aquarium where some of them have begun to develop a bit of a paunch about the midsection. The diet began in late August after handlers noticed that some of the dolphins were struggling to keep up during performances. "We were puzzled by their poor performance, then we noticed they looked rounder,'' park spokesman Haruo Imazu told reporters. All the dolphins are fed on the same diet, but inconsistencies in the fat content of their food had led to excess fat in some of the dolphins' diets. Imazu said that a combination of a regulated diet and exercise should get the dolphins back in shape.