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The uproar over remarks by Harvard University President Lawrence Summer doesn't seem to be dying down. Now his ability to lead the institution is in question. But just what is the role of a university president? We host a discussion of what's expected of academic leaders, and what's acceptable.

Marine Lt. Gen. Mike Mattis caused an uproar at a recent public appearance by declaring that war can be "a hell of a hoot." Evan Wright, author of Generation Kill and a journalist who was embedded with Mattis' platoon in Iraq, joins NPR's Alex Chadwick to discuss the comment.

Actor Ossie Davis has died at 87. He was found this morning in a hotel room in Miami, where he was making a film called Retirement. The cause of death was not immediately known. Davis was a distinguished presence on stage, on screen, and as an activist taking on racial injustice.

Alison Krauss and her band will start a tune again and again until it sounds as good as they imagine it. Krauss and members of Union Station perform at NPR.

Comic book legend Will Eisner died Monday at the age of 87. The artist was best known for his Sunday strip The Spirit, but most may recognize his style from the buxom ladies he painted on the nose of fighter planes in World War II. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reads from listeners' letters. Listeners commented on the Chrisitian beliefs of America's Founding Fathers, volunteering and digital photography's role in the current scrapbooking craze.

Jamaica's government and police have been accused of permitting, and even condoning, anti-gay harassment and even violence. The island nation's leading gay activist was murdered last summer as Human Rights Watch was preparing a report on the alleged discrimination against gays, lesbians and those with HIV. Correspondent Cheryl Devall speaks with Rebecca Schleifer, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, and with "Nick," a gay man in the capital city of Kingston who says he's felt the hate first-hand.

Inspiring people to volunteer all year long is Melanie Denise Cunningham's job. NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with Cunningham, the nationa field representative for the National Exchange Club, an all-volunteer service organization made up of some 900 clubs and 30,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

President Bush travels to Collinsville, Ill., to call for reforms that would make it harder to file medical malpractice lawsuits, while also capping damages. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

For nearly a century, civil rights organizations have fought for racial equality in the United States -- but the organizations that once led the fight so vigorously are now wrapped up in struggles of their own. Reporter Allison Keyes wraps up her two-part series on the state of American civil rights organizations with a look at what some are calling the "new" civil rights movement.