Quick hits
- Two U. of Arizona faculty members are suspended after discussing Middle East conflict. A social-media account posted a recording of the instructors allegedly comparing Hamas to the Black Panther organization in the U.S. and advising students how they could boycott Israel. The university will determine how to proceed after completing an investigation. (Arizona Daily Star)
- Purdue U. will pay the U.S. government more than $737,000 in a settlement after accusations of research fraud. The money resolves a case by the Department of Justice, which found that Alice C. Chang, formerly an associate professor of Cancer Biology and Pharmacology in Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine, “falsified and fabricated data in” two published papers and in 17 grant applications “submitted to the National Institutes of Health and Department of the Army.” (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Indiana)
- California Institute of Technology will administer, but not access, $400-million research program. Ross Brown, chief executive of Cryogenic Industries, is donating the money as he transfers stewardship of the Brown Investigator Awards from his foundation to the university. An unusual requirement of the gift, however, is that no individual grants will be awarded to scientists at Caltech, to avoid possible conflicts of interest, though about $1 million per year will be set aside for the institute’s own basic research in chemistry and physics. (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
- Late bloomers get a boost from college degrees. New research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that students over the age of 30 make up about 20 percent of the college graduates since 1930. Those so-called “late bloomers” have helped narrow the gender and racial attainment gaps, the research found, and make up “more than half of the increase in the aggregate college share from 1960 onward.” (NBER)
‘Hell yeah.’
This year, The Chronicle released the results of a nationwide survey that aimed to better understand the public’s perception of higher education. As part of that project, our reporters spoke with 10 of the respondents, who agreed to be contacted for further reporting, and asked them about their thoughts and experiences of college.
Here are the reflections of Billie Bean-Grant, 69, a college graduate, as told to our reporter Calli McMurray. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“I am the child of sharecroppers from a small town in Indiana. My perception of college in my younger years was that I could not wait to get the hell out of that town. I had a lot of brothers, and they were always in my way of getting a date.
But my parents were also very strong believers in education. My late dad always told me, ‘Of all the things that can be taken away from you, your education is not one of them.’
It was not an expectation to attend college because nobody had the funds. My friends were all going off to college, and I wanted to be part of that crowd. I got an undergraduate degree in communications at Purdue University.
I was the first college-educated person in the family. My eight younger brothers and sisters all went after me. I showed them, hey, it can be done.
I did not have to take out very many loans; I had scholarships; I did work-study. Looking at the cost of education now, I can’t tell you how I would have ever made it in this day and age.
But if someone asked me if they should go to college, I’d tell them, ‘Not only yeah, but hell yeah.’
The cost has to be evaluated against the return, and the return is not always financial. What did I get out of college? It stretched my mind and helped me understand my underlying purpose in this world. You can’t put a cost on that.”
Read more: The Public Perception Puzzle.
Stat of the day
$4.1 million
The amount of money the University of North Carolina at Wilmington was fined for exceeding the state’s 18-percent cap on nonresident enrollment. The fine was levied by the University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors and is the largest penalty since the cap was put in place in 1986, according to NC Newsline.
Comings and goings
- Laura Travis, executive vice president for academic affairs and compliance at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Dickson, has been named president of the college.
- Sacha Joseph-Mathews, assistant dean of diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement at the University of the Pacific, in California, has been named vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at California State University-Stanislaus.
- Benjamin Withers, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University at Fort Collins, has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University.
To submit a new-hire announcement, email people@chronicle.com.
Footnote
As a Daily Briefing reader and Chronicle subscriber, you may find the bylines of many our newsroom’s reporters familiar, but how well do you know them, really? We asked a few of our writers to share anecdotes about what it’s like to cover this industry. What we learned: Higher ed follows them everywhere, even into their dreams.
“I dreamed that the perfect parking spot had just opened up outside my apartment building, but I had to be a member of NACUBO to park there. Seeing as I cover campus health and safety, it would make more sense for me to dream about NASPA, ACHA, IACLEA, ATIXA, or NABITA. But NACUBO? I don’t even have a car.” — Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff reporter.
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