Contents for Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 1998

• Leonard Schlesinger, Brown's new senior vice president for development, brings a fresh perspective to fund raising at the University.

• From "race spectacles" like the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings to the O.J. Simpson trial, Ph.D. candidate Renea Henry is digging deep to understand the layers of American racial ideology.

• An NIH grant links Brown and Tufts scientists for AIDS research.

• Women ages 18 to 45 are sought for a study to compare the effectiveness and subsequent quality of life for patients who have had either a hysterectomy or an endometrial ablation.

• The University receives a multiyear grant for new bioscience courses, equipment and special programs.

• Birds of a feather flock together on campus. How many of the birds on this list have you seen?

• A new undergraduate concentration links biology and computer science.

• The United States should give priority to working through the international community to address common problems, "even if we have to sacrifice some of our sovereignty," according to participants in a national program affiliated with the Watson Institute.

• THE LAST WORD: William Beeman on bombings of embassies, fundamentalist rivals and the economics of oil.