Quick hits
- Two teens are suing the University of Missouri’s decision to halt gender-affirming care for minors: The university’s health-care operation halted such treatments in August in response to a state law banning puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-affirming surgery for minors. The teens argue that they should be allowed to continue their treatments under an exception in the law for those who were already taking those medications. (Associated Press)
- Online training company will pay over $30-million fine for illegal student loans: Prehired, which offered students a 12-week training program to become software sales-development representatives, was sued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and attorneys general in 11 states for deceptive marketing about its financial-aid programs. The company is also ceasing operations and has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. (CFPB)
- Accreditor will review complaints about Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees: The university’s faculty senate sent a complaint to the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting agency that oversees MSU, over allegations that the board chair, Rema Vassar, may have violated the accreditor’s standards of governance. The letter stated that Vassar flew on a university donor’s private jet to an MSU basketball game and appeared in an ad for a former trustee’s wealth management firm, among other things. Criteria for accreditation say that colleges should not be influenced by donors or anyone outside the institution. The university’s Office of Audit, Risk, and Compliance is also investigating whether Vassar violated board ethics rules. (The State News)
Would you host a presidential debate on your campus?
Thanksgiving signals more than the traditional start of the holiday season this year. The Monday announcement of the sites for the 2024 presidential debates is a reminder that the election season will soon be in full swing.
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has chosen three sites for next year’s debates, which are scheduled to take place between September 16 and October 9: Texas State University, Virginia State University, and the University of Utah. The commission picked Lafayette College, in Easton, Pa., for the lone debate between vice-presidential candidates on September 25.
So, what are the benefits and costs of hosting candidates?
Pros: For the colleges in the election-year spotlight, benefits can include publicity valued in the tens of millions of dollars, along with television audiences of a similar scale. For example, Washington University in St. Louis, which has hosted the most debates — four between presidential candidates and one for vice-presidential candidates — has been on the screens of some 66.5 million television viewers and gotten more than 5,000 mentions of the university’s name in mainstream-media coverage.
Lynn University, in Boca Raton, Fla., reaped nearly $64 million in publicity for hosting the 2012 debate between Republican nominee Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee and eventual winner of that election. Centre College, in Danville, Ky., values its publicity at $53 million for hosting the 2000 and 2012 vice-presidential debates. The college also credits the events with helping to raise more than $200 million in donations and increasing enrollment by 10 percent.
Cons: Let’s not forget, all this excitement is expensive. The minimum fee for hosting a debate in 2020 was $2.5 million. Institutions can expect to spend another $4 million to $7 million to pay for security, technology, and campus programming, Justin Pope, vice president and chief of staff at Longwood University, wrote in a 2017 column about hosting the 2016 debate between vice-presidential candidates Mike Pence, the Republican running mate of Donald Trump, and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat of Virginia and running mate of Hillary Clinton.
Nearly a year after that debate, Pope recommended that colleges not consider hosting such events unless they can devote adequate resources — money and staff — to manage the logistical circus that accompanies a nationally televised event. There are important reasons why campuses should consider hosting a presidential debate, Pope wrote, including the value to public service the college is providing. “At a time when our entire enterprise is under skepticism and assault,” Pope wrote, “we should be doing everything we can to remind the country of our essential role of instilling the habits of democracy in each generation.”
Despite the longstanding tradition of hosting the debates on campuses, a Chronicle poll found the public remains skeptical of higher education’s role in civic education. While 68 percent of respondents said it was very or extremely important for colleges to develop a well-informed citizenry, just 31 percent said colleges were very good or excellent at that goal.
Quote of the day
“They’re almost like pets.”
— Kahina Boukherroub, an assistant professor in avian reproductive physiology at the University of Minnesota, says of the two turkeys pardoned by President Biden at the White House on Monday.
The tradition of issuing official pardons for the fowl has existed since 1989 when President George H.W. Bush granted the first one. Since 2016, the National Turkey Federation has sent the birds to academic institutions, reports our Claire Wallace.
Weekend reads
This week’s batch of Chronicle staff-recommended reads is here a bit early. The Daily Briefing is taking off the rest of the week to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. The newsletter will be back Monday, November 27.
Comings and goings
- John A. Groulx, director of budget and fiscal planning at Wheaton College, in Massachusetts, has been named vice president for finance at Virginia Wesleyan University.
- Brandon Gilliland, vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Miami, has been named senior vice president for finance and administration at Wake Forest University.
- Levent Atici, executive director of undergraduate research at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, has been named associate vice provost for student-centered interdisciplinary initiatives at North Carolina State University.
To submit a new-hire announcement, email people@chronicle.com.
Footnote
If you want to avoid your annual post-Thanksgiving nap (whether it’s prompted by turkey or not), here’s an academic dream that will keep you awake:
“Sadly, I’ve had a recurring dream that I’ve finally decided to confront the fact that I never really graduated from Williams College — I was one credit short, and eventually everyone would find out. So I quit my job and return to the Purple Valley with two crying babies in tow, get lost on the way to chemistry class and can’t open my mailbox in the campus mailroom. I’d like to think this kind of dream was inspired by our coverage of academic fraud and the struggles of student parents, but I think it’s just another in a series — you’ve all had these, haven’t you? — that includes showing up naked for class, realizing I haven’t read any of the material we’re being tested on, and running up and down the stairs in my high school trying to find my homeroom as the late bell rings.” —Katherine Mangan, senior writer
