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☆ Columbia’s University Senate Calls for an Investigation Into the Administration
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Stephanie Saul | Anna Betts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Columbia University’s senate voted on Friday to approve a resolution that called for an investigation into the school’s leadership, accusing the administration of violating established protocols, undermining academic freedom, jeopardizing free inquiry and breaching the due process rights of both students and professors. The university’s president, Nemat Shafik, has been under attack for her decision last week to summon the New York Police Department to campus, resulting in the arrest of more than 100 student protesters, and for her earlier congressional testimony, in which professors accused her of capitulating to the demands of congressional Republicans over free speech and the disciplining of students and professors. The resolution, adopted by a vote of 62-14, with three abstentions, fell short of a proposal earlier in the week to censure Dr. Shafik, which many senators worried could be perceived as yielding to Republican lawmakers who had called for her resignation over her handling of antisemitism claims. The senate resolution was based partly on a damaging report by the senate executive committee, which accused Dr. Shafik’s administration of engaging in “many actions and decisions that have harmed” the institution — including the hiring of an “aggressive” private investigation firm.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, capitulating, Shafik, Shafik’s Organizations: Columbia, New York Police Department, Republicans

☆ Columbia University Senate Is Said to Be Redrafting Resolution Admonishing Its President
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Columbia University’s faculty senate, fearing the repercussions of a censure vote against the school’s president, Nemat Shafik, plans instead to vote on a watered-down resolution expressing displeasure with a series of her decisions, including summoning the police last week to arrest protesting students on campus. Senators worried that a censure vote could result in Dr. Shafik’s removal at a time of crisis. The senate is scheduled to meet again on Friday to vote on a resolution. Carol Garber, a senate member, was among those who questioned the perception of a censure vote with so much political pressure to remove Dr. Shafik. “It really isn’t a precedent any university wants to set,” said Dr. Garber, a professor of behavioral sciences.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, Carol Garber, Shafik, ”, Garber Organizations: Columbia, Senators

☆ U.S.C. Cancels Its Main Graduation Ceremony, Citing Security Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The University of Southern California announced on Thursday that it has canceled its main-stage graduation ceremony for students, a move that follows campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war and a controversy over its selection of a class valedictorian. This week, the university has been rocked by turmoil by pro-Palestinian protesters, resulting in the arrests of more than 90 people. It was the continuation of controversy on the Los Angeles campus that began in early April, when the university selected a Muslim valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major from Chino Hills, Calif. Following complaints from several Jewish organizations that Ms. Tabassum, who is of South Asian descent, had posted a social media link to a pro-Palestinian organization, the university informed her that she would not be delivering the valedictorian speech, which is a tradition.

Persons: Asna, Tabassum Organizations: University of Southern California, Los Angeles Locations: Israel, Chino Hills, Calif

Nemat Shafik, Columbia University’s besieged president, faced skeptics on Wednesday in a meeting with the university senate that could vote to censure her over her handling of protests on the Upper Manhattan campus. If Dr. Shafik ultimately remains atop Columbia, her meeting with the university senate made plain that it will likely be as a scarred figure. Dr. Shafik defended her choice to summon the New York authorities to campus, according to three people who attended the meeting at the law school. She said she believed, though, that it was necessary for the safety of protesting students. The group could vote on a censure as soon as Friday, but some senators were discussing the possibility of pursuing a more moderate course in the aftermath of Wednesday’s meeting.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, Columbia University’s, Shafik, Mike Johnson Organizations: Columbia, New Locations: Columbia, Manhattan, New York

Dr. Shafik herself was preparing to confer with the university senate, which could censure her as soon as Friday. On Monday, police were called in to make dozens of arrests at Yale and New York University. Mr. Johnson’s visit to campus will not include a meeting with Dr. Shafik. The university senate could vote on a resolution to censure Dr. Shafik as soon as Friday — not long after the 48-hour negotiation period concludes. By calling in the police anyway, the resolution said, Dr. Shafik had endangered both the welfare and the futures of the arrested students.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Nemat Shafik, Shafik, Kathy Hochul, Emerson, Johnson’s, Columbia, —, “, ” Brendan O’Flaherty, Grayson, Kirk’s, Dr, O’Flaherty, Shafik’s, Liset Cruz, Eryn Davis, Annie Karni, Santul Nerkar, Katherine Rosman, Karla Marie Sanford, Ed Shanahan Organizations: Columbia University, New York Police Department, National Guard, Gov, Guard, Yale, New York University, Tufts, University of California, Hamas, New York City Police, Johnson’s, Republicans Locations: York, Gaza, Berkeley, Israel, ”, Washington, Columbia, New

☆ Columbia’s President May Face a Censure Resolution
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In February, Nemat Shafik, the president of Columbia University, told the school’s senate that she sensed a “low level of trust” in the administration. There was a feeling, Dr. Shafik said, that “the administration is the enemy,” according to the minutes of her meeting with the senate. If the campus distrusted Dr. Shafik two months ago, the relationship is now approaching estrangement. The university senate is expected to vote, possibly as early as Wednesday, on a resolution censuring Dr. Shafik, a reaction to her testimony before Congress and the arrests of more than 100 student protesters.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, ”, Shafik, Dr Organizations: Columbia University

The president of Columbia said the university had suspended 15 students. She promised that one visiting professor “will never work at Columbia again.”And when she was grilled over whether she would remove another professor from his leadership position, she appeared to make a decision right there on Capitol Hill: “I think I would, yes.”The president, Nemat Shafik, disclosed the disciplinary details, which are usually confidential, as part of an all-out effort on Wednesday to persuade a House committee investigating Columbia that she was taking serious action to combat a wave of antisemitism following the Israel-Hamas war. In nearly four hours of testimony before the Republican-led Committee on Education and the Workforce, Dr. Shafik conceded that Columbia had initially been overwhelmed by an outbreak of campus protests. But she said its leaders now agreed that some had used antisemitic language and that certain contested phrases — like “from the river to the sea” — might warrant discipline.

Persons: “, Nemat Shafik, Shafik Organizations: Columbia, Republican, Education, Workforce Locations: Israel

☆ U.S.C. Cancels Valedictorian’s Speech After Claims of Antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The University of Southern California said it has canceled plans for a graduation speech by this year’s valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim. The school said the decision stemmed from security concerns, after several pro-Israeli groups objected to her social media posts supporting Palestinians. The decision drew immediate criticism from the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as from Ms. Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major. “I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice,” Ms. Tabassum wrote in a statement. University officials have had to handle vociferous debates over pro-Palestinian student protests, which many Jewish students and alumni say often veer into antisemitism.

Persons: Asna Tabassum, Tabassum, “, Ms Organizations: University of Southern, Islamic, Hamas, University Locations: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Israel

☆ With State Bans on D.E.I., Some Universities Find a Workaround: Rebranding
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Louisiana State University also rebranded its diversity office after Jeff Landry, a Trump-backed Republican, was elected governor last fall. Its Division of Inclusion, Civil Rights and Title IX is now called the Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX. And at the University of Oklahoma, the diversity office is now the Division of Access and Opportunity. In what appears to be an effort to placate or, even head fake, opponents of diversity and equity programs, university officials are relaunching their D.E.I. offices under different names, changing the titles of officials, and rewriting requirements to eliminate words like “diversity” and “equity.” In some cases, only the words have changed.

Persons: Jeff Landry Organizations: University of Tennessee, . Louisiana State University, Trump, Republican, Civil, University of Oklahoma, ”

☆ Harvard Will Require Test Scores for Admission
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Anemona Hartocollis | Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Harvard will reinstate standardized testing as a requirement of admission, the university announced Thursday, becoming the latest in a series of highly competitive universities to reverse their test-optional policies. Students applying to Harvard in fall 2025 and beyond will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores, though the university said a few other test scores will be accepted in “exceptional cases,” including Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests. Harvard was one of nearly 2,000 colleges across the country that dropped test score requirements over the last few years, a trend that escalated during the pandemic when it was harder for students to get to test sites. Dropping test score requirements was widely viewed as a tool to help diversify admissions, by encouraging poor and underrepresented students who had potential but did not score well on the tests to apply. But supporters of the tests have said without scores, it became harder to identify promising students who outperformed in their environments.

Organizations: Harvard

☆ Jonathan Levin, Dean of Business School, Is Stanford’s New President
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Stanford University’s next president will be Jonathan Levin, an economist who currently serves as dean of the graduate business school and whose association with the university dates back to his undergraduate days in the 1990s. Dr. Levin’s selection, announced on Thursday, was based partly on his deep understanding of the university’s culture, the school said. His appointment is also viewed as a stabilizing force, as Stanford faces turmoil stemming from protests over the Israel-Hamas war, as well as controversy over a predecessor, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who resigned as president last summer amid questions about the quality of scientific research that was conducted in labs he supervised. Jerry Yang, the technology entrepreneur who is the chair of Stanford’s board of trustees, said that the selection committee chose Dr. Levin, 51, as someone who could chart a course for the university during these politically fraught times.

Persons: Stanford University’s, Jonathan Levin, Marc Tessier, Lavigne, Jerry Yang, Levin Locations: Stanford, Israel

☆ After a Year of Turmoil, Harvard’s Applications Drop
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Anemona Hartocollis | Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Applications to Harvard College were down this year, even as many other highly selective schools hit record highs. The drop suggests that a year of turmoil — which went into overdrive with a student letter that said Israel was “entirely responsible” for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks — may have dented Harvard’s reputation and deterred some students from applying. Harvard’s announcement on Thursday evening came as all eight Ivy League schools sent out their notices of admission or rejection, known as Ivy Day. While Brown University also saw a drop in applications, applications rose at many other elite colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Columbia, M.I.T., Bowdoin, Amherst and the University of Virginia.

Persons: Israel, — Organizations: Harvard College, Ivy League, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Amherst, University of Virginia Locations: Dartmouth, Columbia, Bowdoin

☆ Brown University Will Reinstate Standardized Tests for Admission
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The NewsBrown University will reinstate standardized testing requirements for admission, joining Yale, Dartmouth and M.I.T. In its announcement, Brown said that test results were a clear indicator of future success. Brown also echoed concerns expressed by both Dartmouth and Yale that suspending test requirements had the unintended effect of harming prospective students from low-income families. Last year, Brown said it had received more than 51,000 applications for its fall 2023 class. For every school that is bringing back standardized tests, a number of institutions are going in the opposite direction, as part of a growing test-optional movement in the United States.

Persons: Brown, “ Organizations: News Brown University, Yale, Dartmouth, ACT Locations: M.I.T, Providence, R.I, United States

☆ Harvard Is Accused of Obstructing House Antisemitism Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A congressional committee examining campus antisemitism accused Harvard on Wednesday of obstructing its investigation, saying that the university failed to submit documents it had requested while flooding the committee with publicly available pages containing “inexplicable” redactions. Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican of North Carolina, said Harvard was providing a “limited and dilatory” response to her investigation of the school’s handling of alleged campus antisemitism. Ms. Foxx, chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, threatened to use subpoena power to force Harvard to submit more documents. “Somehow, almost two months after the committee first informed Harvard of its intent to request production of specific documents, Harvard provided only a single meaningful document,” she wrote in a letter to the university. Harvard said that it was cooperating with the inquiry and that it “has provided extensive information” with the eight submissions it has made so far.

Persons: Representative Virginia Foxx, Foxx, Harvard, ” Organizations: Harvard, Representative, Republican, House Education, Workforce Committee Locations: North Carolina

☆ At Penn, Tensions May Only Be Growing After Magill’s Resignation
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Campus protests are not usually aimed at a single person. But last week at the University of Pennsylvania, professors staged a rally targeting Marc Rowan, the New York private-equity billionaire. A Penn alumnus and a major benefactor of the university, Mr. Rowan deployed his formidable resources in a relentless campaign against Penn’s president, M. Elizabeth Magill, leading to her resignation in December. Mr. Rowan sent a four-page email to university trustees titled “Moving Forward,” which many professors interpreted as a blueprint for a more conservative campus. Amy C. Offner, a history professor who led the protest, called the document a proposed “hostile takeover of the core academic functions of the university.”

Persons: Marc Rowan, Rowan, Elizabeth Magill, Amy C, ” Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, New, Penn Locations: New York

☆ Pennsylvania Governor Proposes to Overhaul the State University System
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who has complained that his state’s higher education “isn’t working,” proposed on Friday a sweeping overhaul of the state’s sprawling system that would reduce tuition for many students and determine funding for schools based in part on their performance. The plan would consolidate 10 of Pennsylvania’s state universities and all 15 of its community colleges under one governance umbrella, boost state funding for public higher education, and require students with low to middle incomes to pay only $1,000 a semester in tuition. Most of the plan does not affect Pennsylvania’s best-known public universities, including Penn State, Pittsburgh and Temple. “After 30 years of disinvestment, too many of our colleges and universities are running on empty and not enough students have affordable pathways into good jobs,” Mr. Shapiro said in a statement.

Persons: Josh Shapiro, “, ”, Mr, Shapiro Organizations: Pennsylvania, Penn State Locations: Pittsburgh, Temple

☆ Spelman, a Historically Black Women’s College, Receives $100 Million Gift
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Spelman College, the women’s school in Atlanta, announced on Thursday that it had received a $100 million donation, which its officials called the largest-ever single gift to a historically Black college. The gift comes from Ronda E. Stryker, a trustee of Spelman, and her husband, William D. Johnston, chairman of the wealth management company Greenleaf Trust. Ms. Stryker serves as director of the medical equipment company Stryker Corporation, which was founded by her grandfather. In an announcement, Spelman College said that $75 million of the gift had been earmarked for scholarships, and that the remaining money would go toward improving student housing and developing an academic focus on public policy and democracy. In a statement, Spelman’s president, Helene Gayle, said the college was “invigorated and inspired” by the couple’s generosity, adding, “This gift is a critical step in our school’s mission to eliminate financial barriers to starting and finishing a Spelman education.”

Persons: Stryker, Spelman, William D, Johnston, Helene Gayle, “, ” Organizations: Spelman College, Greenleaf Trust, Stryker Corporation, Spelman Locations: Atlanta, Ronda

☆ Biting Cold Sweeping U.S. Hits South With Unfamiliar Freeze
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Extreme weather gripped large parts of the Southern United States on Monday, with several governors declaring states of emergency and officials in Texas urging residents to conserve energy. Hazardous driving conditions hit highways in states ill-equipped to deal with icy and snowy roads, and Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi issued states of emergency. Greg Abbott painted a worrisome picture, warning that much of the state is expected to face temperatures below freezing for “dozens of hours” this week. Wind chills below zero were anticipated across much of the northern half of the state Monday, according to the advisory. Just three years ago a storm killed 246 people and knocked out electricity for millions.

Persons: Martin Luther King’s, Greg Abbott Organizations: Southern United, Gov Locations: Southern United States, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi

☆ In Florida’s Hot Political Climate, Some Faculty Have Had Enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ron DeSantis had just taken office in 2019 when the University of Florida lured Neil H. Buchanan, a prominent economist and tax law scholar, from George Washington University. Now, just four years after he started at the university, Dr. Buchanan has given up his tenured job and headed north to teach in Toronto. In a recent column on a legal commentary website, he accused Florida of “open hostility to professors and to higher education more generally.”He is not the only liberal-leaning professor to leave one of Florida’s highly regarded public universities. The Times interviewed a dozen academics — in fields ranging from law to psychology to agronomy — who have left Florida public universities or given their notice, many headed to blue states. While emphasizing that hundreds of top academics remain in Florida, a state known for its solid and affordable public university system, they raised concerns that the governor’s policies have become increasingly untenable for scholars and students.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Neil H, Buchanan, DeSantis, — Organizations: University of Florida, George Washington University, Times Locations: Toronto, Florida

And all three universities formed task forces to address antisemitism on campus. “Let me reiterate what I and other Harvard leaders have said previously: Antisemitism has no place at Harvard,” Dr. In addition, many pro-Palestinian students point out that they have faced doxxing and harassment — and they are asking on social media for similar efforts against Islamophobia. The groups have been at the center of weeks of intense demonstrations that have sharply divided students and shaken Columbia’s Manhattan campus. The university’s decision will bar the group from holding events on campus or receiving university funding through the end of the fall semester.

Persons: ” Dr, Gay, Gerald Rosberg, ” Organizations: Harvard, Palestinian, Columbia, Justice, Jewish, Peace Locations: Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Manhattan

Pro-Palestinian students like Ms. Babboni see their movement as connected to others that have stood up for an oppressed people. And they have adopted a potent vocabulary, rooted in the hothouse jargon of academia, that grafts the history of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples onto the more familiar terms of social justice movements at home. They also argue that charges of racism betray a misunderstanding of the region, because it is estimated that half of Israelis are of Middle Eastern or North African descent. Since the crisis began, statements and counterstatements have volleyed back and forth among college administrators, students, faculty and alumni. Each takes issue with the language used by the others, and helps explain why the gyre of recriminations only widens with every new statement offered up by students or faculty.

Persons: Babboni, “, ” Organizations: Israel, “ Palestine Solidarity Groups, Columbia University, U.S . Locations: Palestinian, South Africa, Israel, Gaza, Eastern

☆ Who Decides Penn’s Future: Donors or the University?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

“The conference became a vehicle.”It is not unusual for donors, unhappy with student activism, to pull back giving. “It’s essential that the university remains independent from donor pressure or influence on the content of work that’s done in the university,” said Ms. Lieberwitz, who is also general counsel for the American Association of University Professors. “Very broadly, I am deeply committed to academic freedom,” Ms. Magill had told The Daily Pennsylvanian, the campus newspaper. Alumni Donors Push BackOne day after the Indigenous Peoples’ Day post, Ms. Magill issued her first statement condemning the Hamas assault. Some Wharton alumni had been unhappy with the university’s direction for a long time.

Persons: —, Lauder, Jon Huntsman, Dick Wolf —, Rowan, ”, Robert Vitalis, “, George W, Bush, Penn, Risa L, Lieberwitz, Magill, Ms, Amy Wax, Penn Hillel, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Israel, Roger Waters, Susan Albuhawa, Critics, ” Mr, Wharton, Jonathan S, Jacobson, Lia Thomas, Erika James, Ross Stevens, University of Chicago’s Booth, Stevens, Booth Organizations: “, East Center, University of Texas, Austin, University of Denver, Palestinian, U.N, Cornell, American Association of University, Edge, University of Virginia, Daily, university’s College of Arts and Sciences, Penn, Pink Floyd, Indigenous Peoples, Wharton, HighSage Ventures, Management, University of Chicago’s Locations: Utah, Penn, Israel, Yom Kippur, Nazi, Berlin

☆ An Ambitious Antiracism Center Scales Back Amid a Funding Slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The reorganization is partly a sign of the times. Until the university established the center, the 41-year-old Mr. Kendi had never run an organization anywhere near its size. On Wednesday, Boston University announced it was conducting an inquiry into complaints from staff members, which include questions about the center’s management culture and the faculty and staff’s experience with it, as well as its grant management practices. The university said Friday that the center has raised nearly $55 million and its endowment contains about $30 million, with an additional $17.5 million held in reserves. The bulk of the donations came from pledges made during the first year, and the university reported $5.4 million in cash and pledge payments in the most recent fiscal year.

Persons: Floyd’s, Kendi, America — Organizations: ESPN, Boston University Locations: America

☆ Yale’s President Announces He Will Step Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Peter Salovey, the president of Yale, announced Thursday that he will step down in June after 11 years in office, during which he increased the university’s endowment, student enrollment, and its racial, ethnic and economic diversity. A decade ago, the number of first-generation students was 12 percent. This year, Black students made up 14 percent of the class, 18 percent were Latino, 42 percent were white and 30 percent were Asian American. Image Peter Salovey, the president of Yale, in 2017. Credit... Kimberly White/Getty ImagesIn Dr. Salovey’s last year as president, elite colleges will confront a new admissions landscape. Yale University has resisted eliminating the preference and about 11 percent of the class of 2027 are legacies.

Persons: Peter Salovey, Kimberly White, Salovey’s Organizations: Yale, Grants, Yale University

In the latest challenge to the role race may play in school admissions, a legal activist group asked the Supreme Court on Monday to hear a case on how students are selected at one of the country’s top high schools, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in May that Thomas Jefferson, a public school in Alexandria, Va., did not discriminate in its admissions. The Pacific Legal Foundation, a libertarian law group, wants the Supreme Court to overturn that decision, arguing that the school’s new admissions policies disadvantaged Asian American applicants. At issue is the use of what the school board said were race-neutral criteria to achieve a diverse student body. “This is the next frontier,” Joshua P. Thompson, a lawyer with the Pacific Legal Foundation, has said of the litigation.

Persons: Thomas, Thomas Jefferson, Joshua P, Thompson Organizations: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science, Technology, U.S ., Appeals, Fourth Circuit, Pacific Legal Foundation, Harvard, University of North Locations: Alexandria, Va, University of North Carolina

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