Most clicked story of the week:
Higher ed experts are on high alert over a proposal from the U.S. General Services Administration that all federal funding recipients certify compliance with the Trump administration’s executive orders and guidance against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Colleges that don’t fall in line risk a loss of funding and costly legal battles — a luxury most do not have, one policy analyst noted.
Number of the week: 51
The number of years Leon Botstein has led Bard College, in New York. He said last week that he intends to retire at the end of June.
Botstein’s announcement came the day an independent investigation found he downplayed his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Botstein regularly attempted to get Epstein, a convicted sex offender and credibly accused sex trafficker, to donate to Bard, and he did not disclose to the liberal arts college’s board that Epstein was the source of several donations, the probe found.
“His view was, ‘I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God’s work,’” the investigators’ report said.
The cudgel of federal investigations and lawsuits
- The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that the University of California, Los Angeles’ medical school intentionally preferenced Black and Hispanic applicants, violating civil rights law and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions. The highly selective medical school defended its admissions practices as merit-based and “grounded in a rigorous, comprehensive review of each applicant.”
- On the opposite coast in Massachusetts, Smith College is facing a Title IX investigation from the U.S. Department of Education over its policy of admitting transgender women. The private women’s college, along with many of its peer institutions, have considered applications from any prospective student who self-identifies as a woman or nonbinary person for over a decade.
- The DOJ is continuing to fight state laws making certain undocumented students eligible for in-state tuition rates at public colleges. Over the course of two days, the agency sued New Jersey over these policies — marking the ninth such lawsuit it has filed — and appealed a district judge’s ruling siding with Minnesota’s tuition laws.
Further downsizing across the sector
- Kent State University intends to lay off up to 45 employees as it faces a projected $18 million deficit in fiscal 2027. The public Ohio university’s president said Kent State is regularly one of the state’s financially healthiest public institutions, but he noted that Kent State’s board does not permit the university to run a budget deficit.
- Southern Oregon University unveiled a proposal last week intended to keep it viable amid a prolonged financial crisis. Much of the plan — which would eliminate or consolidate 13 academic units and set minimum enrollment thresholds — stemmed from recommendations made by Deloitte consultants. University employees and community members have pushed back, arguing the proposed cuts stemmed from faulty methodology and would undermine SOU’s mission as a regional university.
- The for-profit Modern College of Design abruptly pivoted to online-only instruction and announced it would fully shutter next month. The small Ohio institution’s pending demise continues a sectorwide trend of arts and design colleges closing.
Quote of the week:
“In a world changing this quickly, good intentions and incremental measures are no longer enough.”
New York University President Linda G. Mills and State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr.
In an op-ed for Higher Ed Dive, Mills and King discussed how their respective institutions are partnering to measure the effectiveness of higher ed reforms and test their goals against real student outcomes.
