Purdue University surprised its faculty and the general higher ed sector this spring with its plans to acquire Kaplan University for a symbolic $1 (with a revenue-share plan spanning 30 years). Less noted is the opportunity Purdue has to learn from its new unit. Purdue, an Indiana land-grant institution, will form a new, public university […]
Renowned research chemist Karen Wetterhahn was working with dimethyl mercury in her lab at Dartmouth College, when she spilled a drop of the toxic compound on her glove. She had taken every precaution possible while working with the volatile substance, from using a hood to prevent her from inhaling fumes, to wearing a face shield […]
On some college campuses, the endangered species aren't in the environmental science textbooks. They're in the president's office. Based on a wide array of real and perceived performance issues, university presidents are facing growing challenges to their powerful roles. New findings by Southern Methodist University researchers reveal that "involuntary" presidential departures rose dramatically between 2007 […]
The first clue that something was wrong at Tidewater Community College in Virginia emerged in March 2016 when at least 15 employees discovered they could not file their tax returns. After the IRS informed the employees that their returns had already been submitted, college officials realized someone had breached the computer system. The attack began […]
A January memorandum issued by Richard Griffin, the current general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, has further stoked long-running debate over whether university students should be deemed "employees" who can assert collective bargaining rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The issue has particular significance for schools with high-profile football or other athletic […]
Colleges may already prepare extensively for VIPs, but a deeper level of cross-campus coordination can ensure a smooth visit even when protests or other disruptions occur. This may require new approaches to university security and collaboration between communications, event planning and academic departments. When the visit isn't part of an already coordinated regular event, such […]
It happened suddenly – on the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Chronicle of Higher Education – read as, industrialist Henry Rowan placed a $100 million strategic bet on creating a new kind of engineering school – i.e. reengineering engineering education for the better. Rowan's legacy transformed the Glassboro […]
On April 16, 2007, a senior at Virginia Tech shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two separate attacks, two hours apart, in a residence hall and then an academic building. It had been 41 years since a University of Texas at Austin student killed 17 people and wounded 31 from atop […]
Many small towns and rural regions rely on the nation's 600 rural community and tribal colleges to provide employees who will keep local economies alive. But these institutions, which also serve as cultural centers, face a range pressures in supporting the day-to-day needs of a dwindling number of high school graduates with less money to […]
