Quick hits
- Rice Pride offers services to Texas public-college students: The student-run LGBTQ group at the private university is offering safe-sex products, health-care recommendations, and support to public-college students in the wake of a new state law banning diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at public colleges. (KTRK, The Chronicle)
- Class of 2024 burnout: Eight in 10 undergraduates set to graduate next spring said they have felt burned out at least sometimes during college, according to a survey of 1,148 students released by the job platform Handshake. More than half said they’ll owe student debt when they graduate, and 69 percent said their debt will influence the jobs they consider. (Handshake)
- Who are chief diversity officers? Almost half of CDOs are first-generation college graduates and two-thirds hold a Ph.D. or professional degree, found a survey of 261 people with the title. Nearly a third have annual operating budgets of $39,000 or less, and 44 percent have two or fewer direct reports. The survey comes amid a conservative backlash that’s prompted closure of many campus diversity, equity, and inclusion offices. (National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, The Chronicle)
Stat of the day
35,655 student workers
That’s how many joined collective-bargaining units over 18 months, according to a report released Friday by the City University of New York’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. They joined some 30 new bargaining units over that time, compared with just 21 units organized between 2013 and 2021.
Our Erin Gretzinger has more.
3 questions with a reporter: Why has it been so hard for the U. of Phoenix to find a home?
Our Taylor Swaak recently dug into the quest to sell the University of Phoenix. The giant online for-profit is moving toward a tie-up with the University of Idaho after University of Arkansas system trustees threw a wrench into a proposed deal there. Taylor answered three questions for The Daily Briefing to shed more light on the saga and where things stand.
What is one thing everyone should know about this acquisition?
That it’s still very much in the works. While the University of Idaho’s Board of Regents approved the creation of a nonprofit to purchase the University of Phoenix back in May, approval from both Phoenix’s accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, and the U. of Idaho’s accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, is required for closing. Official approval is months away.
What two things surprised you when you were reporting?
I’m new to the merger-and-acquisition space, so most things surprised me! To cite two:
- Just how complicated mergers and acquisitions in the higher-ed sector are right now: trying to predict where new Education Department regulations will land, having the right financial documents on hand within set time frames, etc. When lawyers who have done this work for decades say, “This is tough,” that says something.
- Sources’ candor in acknowledging the tension between private business and public education — and the admission that there isn’t a clear solution to addressing that discord.
What three questions are you still asking?
- Why did the U. of Phoenix and U. of Idaho partnership move forward as quickly as it did? Did it just come down to meeting a deadline to submit an application to accreditors? Or were there other factors?
- How is the latest news of the Education Department agreeing to discharge $72 million in student loan debt for former Ashford University students influencing how U. of Idaho leadership is thinking through potential liability risks to the institution?
- What happens if a lawsuit against the Idaho State Board of Education drags on? How will that impact the accreditor approval process?
Bonus question: Who was the other “highly reputable state university system” that was reportedly in competition with the U. of Idaho and U. of Arkansas system to acquire Phoenix?
Read Taylor’s full story here.
Comings and goings
- M. Leslie Davidson, vice president for enrollment at Beloit College, in Wisconsin, has been named vice president for enrollment management at Franklin & Marshall College, in Pennsylvania.
- Julie Greenwood,vice dean for educational initiatives in EdPlus at Arizona State University, has been named dean of Continuing and Professional Education at the University of California at Davis.
- Jennifer Brown, dean of the Quinnipiac University School of Law, plans to step down in June 2024.
To submit a new-hire announcement, email people@chronicle.com.
Footnote
A few weeks ago, I wrote about coffee grown at Whittier College, in California. That prompted Fritz Weis, former president of Scripps College, also in California, to suggest another foodstuffs footnote.
Scripps says olive trees have graced its campus since the college’s formation in 1926, and student activism has taken root because of them. In May 1968, students protested building plans that would have destroyed campus gardens. As the college puts it today, students “took to the trees” to stop them from coming down. In a compromise, 60 of the trees were dug up and replanted to make way for a humanities building.
In 2007, a course on the politics and culture of food prompted students to look into making olive oil from the trees. Five years later, students and employees harvested more than 1,500 pounds of olives.
That first batch was reportedly “fruity, buttery, and smooth, with a good bite and an olive note.” Hopefully you found this to be a smooth olive (foot)note, as well.
For more on collegiate products from The Chronicle archive: Check out this 2004 review of the bottled water sold by colleges.