Daily Briefing

Welcome to Friday, January 27. Today’s Briefing was written by Marcela Rodrigues, with contributions from Julia Piper. Write to us: marcela@chronicle.com.

The long-term risks of long Covid.

This academic year, colleges have largely done away with mask requirements, and some have also ditched vaccination mandates. But according to a study published Thursday by researchers at George Washington University, college leaders will have to continue contending with the reality of long Covid on their campuses.

The study examined 1,338 cases of Covid-19 identified through on-campus testing of students, faculty, and staff at George Washington between July 2021 and March 2022. The university mandated that students and employees be fully vaccinated by August 2021 and receive a booster by March 2022.

Of the 1,338 cases, 36 percent of people reported experiencing symptoms consistent with long Covid. Nearly three-quarters of respondents were students; the rest were faculty or staff. The median age of respondents was 23 years old, and 63.4 percent of respondents were women.

Long Covid is defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as signs, symptoms, and conditions that continue or develop four weeks or more after someone has been infected with Covid for the first time. U.S. Census Bureau data show that nearly one-in-five American adults who have contracted the virus still experience symptoms consistent with long Covid.

“As we return to face-to-face classes, we have to face the fact that this disease is not going away,” said Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

Read more from our Eva Surovell here.

Quick hits.

• An audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office found that Louisiana State University’s head football coach, Brian K. Kelly, was overpaid by over $1 million last year. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report)
• Hilbert College, a small Franciscan institution in New York, announced plans to acquire Valley College, a for-profit located in West Virginia and Ohio. The colleges will operate independently under a new nonprofit entity called Franciscan Services, establishing transfer pathways between the two institutions’ online programs. (Higher Ed Dive)
• A former human-resources manager at Lincoln University, in Missouri, alleges the university discriminated against him by giving other employees raises while leaving his department with an open position. The case’s opening arguments were presented to a 14-person jury, and the trial is scheduled to last through February 3. (News Tribune)
• North Dakota’s house majority leader has filed legislation that would let the presidents of two colleges review tenured faculty at any time and terminate their employment without an appeal process. (Inside Higher Ed)
• More than 100 Harvard University students walked out of professor John L. Comaroff’s class, protesting his presence on campus after he was placed on leave for violating the institution’s sexual-harassment and professional-conduct policies. (The Harvard Crimson)

Public Colleges in Oklahoma Must Account for ‘Every Dollar’ Spent on Diversity

Oklahoma’s public colleges are hurrying this week to compile details on their spending over the past decade on diversity, a response to a prompt from a state education leader. Ryan Walters, superintendent of public instruction, asked the chancellor of the 25-campus Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to account for “every dollar” spent over a 10-year period on diversity, equity, and inclusion; on related programs and materials; and on staff members who contribute to diversity work.

A Republican who was recently elected to his post, Walters gave the colleges until Wednesday to submit their reports. His request mirrors recent actions in Florida, providing another example of heightened interest by Republican officials in documenting, and potentially curbing, colleges’ efforts to promote equity and inclusion on their campuses.

Read more from our Sarah Brown.

Weekend reads.

Check out this week’s batch of Chronicle staff-recommended reads:

• “How do we recognize the suffering in this moment and return to our breath?” writes Kathleen S. Yep, a professor of Asian American studies at Pitzer College and a longtime resident of Monterey Park, Calif., where a gunman killed 11 people at a ballroom dance studio. In this essay for Lion’s Roar, Yep tries to reimagine what it means to be safe in our own communities in the aftermath of a mass shooting.
• The Washington Post tells the story of “a curious seal, a wayward robot and a gigantic climate-change disaster that may be waiting to happen.” Reporters Chris Mooney and Simon Ducroquet dive into how scientists tagged a southern elephant seal on the island of Kerguelen in the Indian Ocean in 2011 and what they learned about the Denman Glacier.
• Have you heard of the “This Is Fine” dog? The one sipping from a mug as a fire rages around him? Your millennial and Gen-Z students or family members certainly have. The Atlantic’s Megan Garber wrote about the meme that, she says, defined a generation.

Comings and goings.

• Robert Pearigen, president of Millsaps College since 2010, plans to step down in May.
• John L. Jackson Jr., a professor and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the university’s provost.
• Nina Caldwell, vice president for student life at Maryville University, has been named vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To submit a new-hire announcement, email people@chronicle.com.

Footnote.

What could interrupt a college basketball game? A medical emergency? Something serious like a fire, perhaps?

Well, during the second half of a game between Loyola University Chicago and Duquesne University, a delivery person holding a McDonald’s bag wandered onto the court.

“Some coaches and players were lovin’ it, while the bizarre scene during a college basketball game set off a McFlurry of amused, incredulous reactions among plenty of others,” wrote The Washington Post reporter Des Bieler. “His initial inability to locate his intended recipient could have provided a major opportunity for a would-be Hamburglar, but accounts from the game indicated the delivery was completed.”