Harvard University has created a chair for Gender Studies within its Graduate School of Education. "It is an important statement that the issue of gender is now permanently a part of the university, an enduring and vital part of Harvard and its research program, " said Harvard psychologist and education professor Carol Gilligan, who will hold the position. Gilligan holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Harvard and is best known for her studies of women's psychological development and of the ways girls learn.

Four women are endowing the chair, two of whom wish to remain anonymous. The other two are Elisabeth A. Hobbs and Emily H. Fisher, both graduates of the education school and members of its visiting committee. The four sponsors donated a total of $2.5 million. - J.H.

After years of research which kept women of childbearing age out of studies and away from treatments because the medication might harm an embryo or fetus, the FDA stated that it wants to delay any medical trial that discriminates on the basis of sex.

According to proposed regulations, the FDA would put on hold any trial that excluded women or men because of possible harm to the reproductive system. Although the FDA told drug companies in 1993 to include women equally at all stages of testing, in 4,000 clinical studies done in the past three years, 25% excluded women solely because of a pregnancy risk.

Women's advocates attacked such discrimination, asserting that women should be told of the risks and allowed to make their own decisions. Being a part of a clinical trial is often the only way to get access to drugs for life-threatening diseases. - L.T.

In 1998 almost 300 colleges and universities in the U.S. will not use the gender- and race-biased SAT or the ACT in admissions decisions, according to FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing - an increase of more than four dozen since 1995.

Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT, which are meant to predict a student's first-year college grades, have been shown to overpredict the grades of white men and underpredict the grades of women and people of color. Standardized tests are also biased in favor of people who can afford coaching courses. For a complete list of colleges not requiring standardized tests send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: "Tests are Optional," FairTest, 342 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139. Or see the FairTest Web page: http://www.fairtest.org.

A study published in Nature Medicine reports that the drug RU-486 could be helpful in treating people with HIV.

The researchers found that RU-486, which is also used as a method of early abortion, weakens the HIV-produced proteins and glucocorticoids that suppress the immune system. Vpr, one of the proteins, kills infection-fighting cells and inhibits immune-cell growth. RU-486 reduced Vpr-induced cell destruction by 60%. While further research is needed, these findings are encouraging, because other studies show HIV is much less likely to multiply when Vpr is not present.

Mifepristone may also be an effective new method of contraception, according to results from a small trial at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom. When taken daily in one hundredth of the dose used for abortion, the drug blocks ovulation and women report fewer side effects compared with progesterone- or estrogen-based pills.

RU-486 currently is not available in the U.S. The Feminist Majority Foundation continues to campaign for its availability. See our information on RU 486.

In response to the Students Against Sweatshops groups on their campuses, Duke University and Notre Dame Unviersity will require companies that make items with univeristy logos to sign a pledge that they don't use sweatshop labor. The code of conduct companies must sign will require them to disclose working conditions in their factories.

A "sweatshop" is defined as a workplace that violates two or more of the most basic labor laws including child labor, minimum wage, overtime and fire safety laws. The vast majority of sweatshop workers are women.

Students Against Sweatshops is a project of UNITE, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees.