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Illustration by The Chronicle; Photos by Erica Lansner, Redux, and iStock
Lee Bollinger on Trump: ‘We’re in the midst of an authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.’ Bollinger (above) retired as president of Columbia University in 2023. Since his departure, Columbia has remained in the spotlight and has become a Trump-administration target after pro-Palestinian protests rocked the campus last year. In an interview with TheChronicle, Bollinger didn’t mince words, saying that the government actions we’re seeing now are the beginnings of an authoritarian or illiberal democracy. Read the full interview.
Not everyone is thrilled about Ibram Kendi’s new faculty position at Howard University. Howard announced Kendi’s appointment in January, without a faculty vote or advance notice of the appointment. The official process to hire Kendi, author of the bestseller How to Be an Antiracist and former head of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, will come later, but for some faculty members, his hiring adds to a list of grievances against university administrations. Others question whether Kendi is using Howard to mend his image. Our Jasper Smith reports.
Plans to hike the endowment tax are taking shape. The White House and Republican-controlled Congress want to extend broad tax cuts that were passed during Trump’s first term. To help fund those cuts, lawmakers will likely aim to expand the tax on colleges’ investment earnings, according to a leaked policy document from the Republican members of the House Budget Committee. Lawmakers could change the endowment tax in many ways, the simplest being increasing the rate at which colleges’ investment income is taxed. Lawmakers could also expand the tax by altering the formula that decides which institutions are subject to it. Our Lee Gardner has more.
This week on College Matters from The Chronicle: Disappearing white students. White-student college enrollment has dropped 19 percent since 2018, more than any other racial group. What is driving the decline? Our Katherine Mangan and Daarel Burnette II explain. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.
Last week’s most-read story from the newsletter:This Review essay on problematic pedagogy gurus, calling them “would-be insurgents.” Yikes.
Lagniappe
Read. Phone scams have become a part of daily life for many of us. This is the story of a fraud operation that since its inception has targeted every single Canadian adult. (Maclean’s)
