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☆ 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

☆ Texas A&M Agrees to $1 Million Settlement With Journalism Professor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Texas A&M University acknowledged on Thursday that top university officials, fearing criticism from conservatives, had made “significant mistakes” in their failed effort to hire a prominent Black professor to run the university’s journalism program. It said it had reached a $1 million settlement with the professor, Kathleen McElroy. Then, following complaints about her hiring from university regents, they changed the terms of her contract. What had started as an offer of a full faculty position with tenure was reduced to a one-year appointment with no tenure, the university’s report says. Dr. McElroy, who had run the journalism program at the University of Texas and was formerly an editor at The New York Times, announced in July that she would not take the job, less than a month after Texas A&M had held a public signing ceremony to welcome her, complete with balloons.

Persons: Kathleen McElroy, McElroy’s, Dr . McElroy Organizations: Texas, M University, University of Texas, The New York Times

☆ Stanford President Will Resign After Report Found Flaws in His Research
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Following months of intense scrutiny of his scientific work, Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced Wednesday that he would resign as president of Stanford University after an independent review of his research found significant flaws in studies he supervised going back decades. The review, conducted by an outside panel of scientists, refuted the most serious claim involving Dr. Tessier-Lavigne’s work — that an important 2009 Alzheimer’s study was the subject of an investigation that found falsified data and that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had covered it up. The panel concluded that the claims “appear to be mistaken” and that there was no evidence of falsified data or that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had otherwise engaged in fraud. But the review also stated that the 2009 study, conducted while he was an executive at the biotech company Genentech, had “multiple problems” and “fell below customary standards of scientific rigor and process,” especially for such an influential paper.

Persons: Marc Tessier, Lavigne, Tessier, “ Organizations: Stanford University

☆ Texas A&M Celebrated a New Journalism Director. Then Came the Complaints.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kathleen McElroy, who had recently served as the director of the University of Texas’s School of Journalism, was thrilled to embark on a new assignment: running a similar program at her alma mater, Texas A&M University. Dr. McElroy, who once worked as an editor at The New York Times, said she was notified by the university’s interim dean of liberal arts, José Luis Bermúdez, of political pushback over her appointment. “I said, ‘What’s wrong?’” Dr. McElroy recalled in an interview. “He said, ‘You’re a Black woman who was at The New York Times and, to these folks, that’s like working for Pravda.’” Dr. McElroy left The Times in 2011. She elected to return to her tenured position at the University of Texas.

Persons: Kathleen McElroy, . McElroy, José Luis Bermúdez, “, ‘, Dr, McElroy, ’ Organizations: University of Texas’s School of Journalism, M University, The New York Times, Pravda, Times, University of Texas, The Texas Tribune Locations: mater , Texas

With the Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious affirmative action, the college admissions process is about to change for everyone. Hundreds of colleges have stopped requiring standardized tests, essays are likely to be much more important, and admissions decisions could become much more subjective. We asked readers to send us their questions about college admissions, and answered a few of them below. I’ve won prizes in an extracurricular activity. But we ran your question by Terry Mady-Grove, a college admissions consultant based in Port Washington, N.Y. She said it was highly unlikely that one extracurricular activity alone would propel you into a Top 20 college.

Persons: I’ve, I’m, — Jackson Urrutia, Terry Mady Locations: Columbia, Andrews, Folsom, Calif, That’s, Grove, Port Washington, N.Y

☆ Harvard’s Admissions Is Challenged for Favoring Children of Alumni
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s been called affirmative action for the rich: Harvard’s special admissions treatment for students whose parents are alumni, or whose relatives donated money. And in a complaint filed on Monday, a legal activist group demanded that the federal government put an end to it, arguing that fairness was even more imperative after the Supreme Court last week severely limited race-conscious admissions. Three Boston-area groups requested that the Education Department review the practice, saying the college’s admissions policies discriminated against Black, Hispanic and Asian applicants, in favor of less qualified white candidates with alumni and donor connections. “Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations?” asked Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, which is handling the case. And it adds to accelerating pressure on Harvard and other selective colleges to eliminate special preferences for the children of alumni and donors.

Persons: It’s, ”, Ivan Espinoza, Madrigal Organizations: Education Department, Civil Rights, Fair, Harvard Locations: Boston

☆ With End of Affirmative Action, a Push for a New Tool: Adversity Scores
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For the head of admissions at a medical school, Dr. Mark Henderson is pretty blunt when sizing up the profession. “Mostly rich kids get to go to medical school,” he said. In his role at the medical school at the University of California, Davis, Dr. Henderson has tried to change that, developing an unorthodox tool to evaluate applicants: the socioeconomic disadvantage scale, or S.E.D. The disadvantage scale has helped turn U.C. Davis into one of the most diverse medical schools in the country — notable in a state that voted in 1996 to ban affirmative action.

Persons: Mark Henderson, ”, Davis, Dr, Henderson, U.C Organizations: University of California

Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Not everyone with debt would have been covered under the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan. The Supreme Court has barred the Biden administration from carrying out its plan to extinguish up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt, and millions of borrowers will continue to struggle under the weight of their loans. Ms. Schmidt owes $64,000 in student debt, more than half of which is for her graduate work in nursing. But she’s already contemplating how she’ll finance her dream of becoming a civil rights lawyer, which typically requires an additional six figures in student debt. Yet her mother is still paying down student debt of her own.

Persons: Biden, Gina McDavitt, weren’t, Pell, “, ”, McDavitt, ” Ms, Ms, Monica Schmidt, Schmidt, Kevin Serna, Dorien Rogers, Rogers, Asha Anthony, she’s, —, Anthony, Mr, don’t, Joanna Leiserson, Brian Kaiser, “ I’m, Leiserson Organizations: Georgetown University, Biden, College of San, San Francisco State University, The New York Times, University of Phoenix, Northern Illinois University, Public, Schaun, Tax, Howard University, Salisbury University, The New York, Republicans Locations: Washington ,, College of San Mateo, Bay, Vallejo , Calif, Genoa, Ill, Germantown, Md, Credit, Montgomery County, Mesa, Maryland, Spokane, —, forbearance

☆ What the Affirmative Action Ruling Means for Colleges and Universities
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-conscious admissions will likely change higher education in complicated ways. Others, though, could also change society, affecting the doctors who treat you, the judges who hear your cases, and the college choices of Black students. Here are a few things that could happen, now and in the future. The Campus Will Look DifferentWhat will happen to the student body at the 100 or so selective colleges and universities that practice race-conscious admissions? Nine states already ban this form of affirmative action at their public universities, providing a guide to what could happen.

your moneyThere are still plenty of ways to get your student debt wiped away. That’s because the Supreme Court’s disapproval of the plan does not change laws and regulations that already give many federal student loan borrowers an escape hatch. What follows is a list of ways to eliminate your federal student loan balance aside from paying in full. If you know someone who is struggling with student loan debt, suggest that the borrower review every last option. Bankruptcy DischargeYes, you can discharge your student loan debt by filing for personal bankruptcy.

Persons: Biden’s, —, It’s, Biden, Tara Siegel Bernard, Ann Carrns, Ann, Donald J, Trump, Tara Organizations: U.S . Department of Education, Education Department, Public, Westwood College, Corinthian Colleges, DeVry University, ITT Technical Institute, Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs Locations: forbearance

☆ Five Ways College Admissions Could Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Students may change what they write about in the college essay. The pressure is on to end their advantage in the admissions game. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday that ended race-conscious admissions is widely expected to lead to a dramatic drop in the number of Black and Hispanic students at selective colleges. But the court’s decision could have other, surprising consequences, as colleges try to follow the law but also admit a diverse class of students. The Supreme Court made a point of noting that students could highlight their racial or ethnic backgrounds in the college essay.

Organizations: SAT, ACT

☆ The application essay will become a place to talk about race.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The college essay may become more important after the Supreme Court’s decision, and a place where students can highlight their racial or ethnic backgrounds — but with a big caution sign from the court. In the decision striking down affirmative action policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote, “Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university.”However, the chief justice also took a shot across the bow at anyone who might be thinking that the essay could be used as a surreptitious means of racial selection. “Despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities may not simply establish through the application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today,” he wrote, underscoring, “What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly.”

Persons: John G, Roberts, ”, underscoring Organizations: Harvard, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the equal protection clause,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority. The court had repeatedly upheld similar admissions programs, most recently in 2016, saying that race could be used as one factor among many in evaluating applicants. The university responded that its admissions policies fostered educational diversity and were lawful under longstanding Supreme Court precedents. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that courts must give universities substantial but not total leeway in devising their admissions programs. The Texas decision essentially reaffirmed Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 decision in which the Supreme Court endorsed holistic admissions programs, saying it was permissible to consider race to achieve educational diversity.

Persons: “, John G, Roberts, ”, Sonia Sotomayor, Edward Blum, Antonin Scalia, Elena Kagan, Justice Anthony M, Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G, Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kennedy, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Breyer, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Justice Jackson, Grutter, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Clarence Thomas Organizations: Harvard, University of North, Civil, Asian, Fair, University of Texas Locations: University of North Carolina, North Carolina, Austin, Texas

☆ Ruling May Mean a Sharp Drop in Black and Latino Students
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After Michigan banned race-conscious admissions in 2006, Black undergraduate enrollment declined at the University of Michigan, the state’s flagship school. The share of Black students fell to 4 percent in 2021, from 7 percent in 2006. That year, Black students at the University of California, Los Angeles, made up 7 percent of the student body. By 1998, the percentage of Black students had fallen to 3.43 percent. At highly selective liberal arts colleges, officials expect that the number of Black students could return to levels not seen since the 1960s.

Organizations: Michigan, University of Michigan, University of California’s, University of California Locations: Los Angeles

PinnedThe Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful, curtailing affirmative action at colleges and universities around the nation, a policy that has long been a pillar of higher education. The university responded that its admissions policies fostered educational diversity and were lawful under longstanding Supreme Court precedents. Seven years later, only one member of the majority in the Texas case, Justice Sotomayor, remains on the court. Justice Jackson recused herself from the Harvard case, having served on one of its governing boards. The Texas decision essentially reaffirmed Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 decision in which the Supreme Court endorsed holistic admissions programs, saying it was permissible to consider race to achieve educational diversity.

Persons: Edward Blum, Antonin Scalia, Elena Kagan, Justice Anthony M, Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G, Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kennedy, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Breyer, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Justice Jackson, Grutter, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor Organizations: Harvard, University of North, Civil, Asian, Fair, University of Texas Locations: University of North Carolina, North Carolina, Austin, Texas

☆ At U.Va., an Alumnus Attacked Diversity Programs. Now He Is on the Board.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Virginia, Mr. Youngkin has chosen a less confrontational approach than Mr. DeSantis, but has moved to change the direction of the state’s flagship university, in part by appointing Mr. Ellis to the board. A spokesman for the governor did not respond to questions about the administration’s plans for D.E.I. programs at the university but referred to a comment the governor made during a recent CNN Town Hall: “We have to celebrate excellence. Depending on the reach of the court’s ruling, D.E.I. programs could become more crucial in attracting and retaining Black and Hispanic students.

Among the violations “confirmed” by state investigators from the Kentucky Cabinet were improper use of restraints and aggression by staff members. As of Oct. 20, 32 children who are in state custody remained in Brooklawn’s care, according to the facility. Police and state officials say they are still investigating Ja’Ceon’s death, and no charges have been filed. Brooklawn said the facility has implemented new safety measures and increased training for staffers who provide direct care to children. This type of incident should never be allowed to happen again.”Some child advocates say Ja’Ceon’s death should prompt systemic change.

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