All posts by Andy Thomason

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Journal’s Board of Directors Disavows Editors’ Apology for Article on ‘Transracialism’

The Board of Directors of Hypatia, the feminist philosophy journal that sparked controversy with the article “In Defense of Transracialism,” has released a statement disavowing a widely circulated apology that was written by a group of editors at the journal. “The board finds that the associate editors’ statement undermining the editorial decision was disseminated without adequate consultation with the editor,” the new statement says, in part.

The new statement represents the latest development …

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Students Boo, Turn Their Backs on DeVos at Bethune-Cookman Speech

Betsy DeVos, the U.S. education secretary, drew loud boos on Wednesday from attendees at Bethune-Cookman University’s commencement ceremony, where she delivered the keynote address. Many graduating students in the audience also turned their backs on her as she spoke.

At one point, the president of the university, Edison O. Jackson, interrupted Ms. DeVos to warn protesting students that if they continued to boo, “your degrees will be mailed to you.”

Ms. DeVos did not directly acknowledge the prot…

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Administrator Who Accidentally Told Students College May Close No Longer Works There

The Holy Cross College vice president who mistakenly sent an email to students in which he said the college could close in the next year no longer works there, the South Bend Tribune reports.

“Please be advised that Dr. Kelly Jordan is no longer an employee of the college,” wrote the Rev. David Tyson, Holy Cross’s interim president, in an email to students on Monday. “He will be leaving after the final-exam period has concluded.”

Mr. Jordan, who was vice president for student affairs, wrote in s…

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College Official Unwittingly Tells Students That It May Soon Close

An administrator at Holy Cross College, in Indiana, mistakenly sent an email to the entire student body on Friday that paints a bleak picture of the small institution’s finances and mentions its possible closure. The alarming email, and failed efforts by the college to recall it, was reported by the South Bend Tribune.

“It may be that I will spend the better part of the coming school year closing down the college,” wrote the vice president for student affairs, Kelly Jordan, in the email. “All we…

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Purdue U. Buys Mega For-Profit Kaplan U., Plans to Turn It Into a ‘Public University’

Updated (4/27/2017, 11:53 a.m.) with news of the finalization of the purchase and more details on the deal.

Purdue University’s Board of Trustees voted on Thursday morning to buy the for-profit Kaplan University, which is a division of the Graham Holdings Company. The surprise announcement was first made in a corporate filing by the company on Thursday morning.

For in-depth analysis of the deal, see this report by Goldie Blumenstyk. For a report on the view from students and faculty members at …

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Foundation to Buy Education Management Corp., Convert Campuses Into Nonprofits

The Dream Center Foundation, a charitable organization, will acquire the Education Management Corporation and convert its remaining campuses from for-profit status to nonprofit, according to a news release from the foundation.

The Obama administration’s heightened regulation of for-profit colleges was not kind to the once-sprawling for-profit educator known as EDMC. In 2015 the corporation reached a $95.5-million settlement with the federal government over claims that it had pressured and misled…

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In Tweet, Trump Threatens Berkeley With Loss of Federal Funds Over Protests

President Trump sent a tweet on Thursday morning threatening the University of California at Berkeley with a loss of federal funds over violent protests that shut down a speech by the well-known conservative Milo Yiannopoulos on Wednesday.

The protests on Wednesday, which included fires, several explosions,…

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Colleges Scramble After Trump’s Executive Order Bans Citizens of 7 Muslim Countries

[Updated (1/28/2017, 9:52 p.m.) with news of the judge's ruling.]

Colleges across the United States are rushing to respond to the news on Friday that President Trump had signed an executive order suspending admission to the United States of all refugees as well as all citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations. The main message was one many institutions had been spreading well before Friday: Students and scholars, if you might be affected by such an executive order, don’t leave the country.

Late …

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UVa President, Who Prevailed Over Bid to Oust Her, Will Step Down

Teresa A. Sullivan, the University of Virginia president who made national news in 2012 by beating back the governing board’s attempt to oust her, will step down when a successor is found, she announced on Friday.

In a written statement, Ms. Sullivan did not provide a precise reason for her departure, except to say that the university was “strong and positioned for even greater strength,” and that her current contract expires in 2018.

In 2012, Ms. Sullivan’s sudden resignation shocked academe an…

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City College of San Francisco, Which Fought Accreditor, Wins Back Full Recognition

City College of San Francisco, the community college that vigorously fought efforts by its accreditor to strip it of its accreditation, has been reaccredited for the full term of seven years, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges moved to strip the college of its accreditation in 2013, citing problems in the college’s finances as well as its governance. That spurred the college’s leaders to scramble in an effort to save it. After variou…

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