Rick Seltzer

What I Cover

I write the Daily Briefing newsletter, a look at the most important higher- ed news from The Chronicle and across the country, plus major trends to keep an eye on, developing questions, notable job changes, and a little bit of fun to start your day — all delivered to your inbox every morning.

My Background

I’ve covered college presidents, banking, health care, local government, and everything in between.

Before joining The Chronicle in 2023, I was senior editor at Higher Ed Dive. I started covering the sector at Inside Higher Ed, first as a reporter and later as projects editor. I’ve also been a reporter at the Baltimore Business Journal, The Bloomington Herald-Times in Bloomington, Ind., The Central New York Business Journal, and The Harrisburg Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa.

Connect

Email me directly at rick.seltzer@chronicle.com, call me at 202-630-1573, or reach me via Signal at rseltzer.42.

Highlights

Daily Briefing: Florida’s no good, very bad, land-grant summer

Wear a mask, show ID at Va. Commonwealth. Another start-of-term delay at Saint Augustine’s. Columbia’s interim chief appeals for tolerance, and more.

Daily Briefing: Questions for the fall

Temple won’t acquire U. of the Arts. Board backs embattled Commonwealth U. president. All the insight you can buy for $4.6 million, and more.

Recent Newsletters

Daily Briefing

Jan 15: Free college for adults, with major restrictions

Federal trans-athlete ban proposed. Anti-DEI law fells women’s climbing night. A governor threatens a university president’s job, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 14: Forget everything about enrollment last fall

Biden’s lame-duck blitz. More women researchers stopped publishing over time. Where NEA writing fellows go to college, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 13: Exit McKinsey, enter Claude

Class-swapping tool lands student in hot water. Another labor push packs it in. Where child-care costs as much as college tuition, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 10: Medical-school diversity plunges

Court kills Biden Title IX rules before Trump can. College made its own “ghost” students. Democratic governor rebukes rising college costs, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 9: Faculty feel less free

McMahon confirmation hits a speed bump. British colleges flee X. Miss Manners is unimpressed with a college president, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 8: ‘A slap on the wrist’ for misleading marketing?

UT-Austin president jumps to Southern Methodist U. SUNY adds civic-discourse requirement. DeSantis stocks another Florida university board. And more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 7: When mergers aren’t the answer

Do students skip or substitute when no two-year college is nearby? Big vaccine payday for Penn. Pop history is … popping. And more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 6: The president’s spending problem became the board’s spending problem

New Mexico State fires athletic director, two years after crisis. Who controls Southern Methodist University? Banished words are back, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 3: What you missed on winter break

Trump preparations are in full swing. States turn up the heat on gender studies. Academic writing is getting harder to read, and more.

Daily Briefing

Jan. 2: 2025’s biggest questions

Will Florida be Trump’s higher-ed blueprint? What recruiting changes are in store? Can we have some fun this year? And more.