ANN ARBOR—In the continuing series of lectures on the future of the research university presented by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan, the focus shifts to the future of publishing in higher education.

James Hilton, special assistant to the U-M provost for media rights, will present “At the Crosswords: Scholarship and Teaching in the Information Age,” at 3 p.m. Monday (April 17) at Rackham Amphitheater. Hilton’s presentation is co-sponsored with the University Library.

According to Hilton, scholars and teachers create information, transform it and transmit it to their students, colleagues and the world at large. Within the academic world, many see intellectual progress as requiring the free exchange of ideas. At the same time, the academy is surrounded by a world in which information is rapidly becoming a commodity—a piece of property with tangible value. In that world, legal, cultural and technological changes are rapidly moving toward a “pay per view” model in which each peek at a piece of information comes with a price and ideas are zealously guarded. How the higher education community responds to these changes will determine much of the future of classes and scholarship.

In his talk, Hilton will review some of the forces at work in this rapidly changing scenario and the implications they have for university policy and academic tradition.

For more information contact Lynne Dumas at (734) 647-2644 or ledumas@umich.edu.

Rackham School of Graduate Studiesprovostledumas@umich.edu