Postdoc Named Helen Hay Whitney Fellow [ Stowers Institute for Medical Research ]

College student reflects on impact of viral online rumor that 'ruined' her life [ NBC News ]

Ten weeks that shook the world [ Financial Times ]

The flava:

On many fronts, and with deliberate haste, America is vaporising its soft power. It takes less than a quarter to besmirch a brand that took a quarter of a millennium to build. How long would it take to repair? Last week, Myanmar was hit by its worst earthquake in decades. Chinese and even Russian aid teams were on the ground within days. Having dismantled USAID, American assistance has yet to arrive. At home, Trump plans to deport more than 300,000 Venezuelan refugees into the maw of the brutal regime they fled. 

None of the world’s huddled masses are welcome in America with one exception — white South Africans. As Trump shuts down agencies and consulates around the world, his administration is establishing processing centres for white Afrikaner “refugees” in Pretoria, who he claims are victims of racial discrimination by South Africa’s Black majority government. In case anyone misses the point, his administration is erasing the contributions of non-white Americans from Pentagon websites, the Arlington cemetery and the Smithsonian museum. Martin Luther King Jr is out. The names of defeated confederate generals are back. Science research projects are being scoured for banned words, such as “equity” and even “women”. 

All of this is being done in the name of meritocracy. America’s new guard are almost all white, all male, and mostly unqualified to lead the great departments they are vandalising. It is not just foreigners who are remaking their plans. American scientists are looking for jobs abroad. Trump has presented the rest of the world with a giant poaching opportunity. . . .   

The article:

https://www.ft.com/content/510069b5-75e5-4f1d-b382-56217f3866bb

How Each Pillar of the 1st Amendment is Under Attack [ krebsonsecurity.com ]

The flava:

In an address to Congress this month, President Trump claimed he had “brought free speech back to America.” But barely two months into his second term, the president has waged an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment rights of journalists, students, universities, government workers, lawyers and judges.

This story explores a slew of recent actions by the Trump administration that threaten to undermine all five pillars of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedoms concerning speech, religion, the media, the right to assembly, and the right to petition the government and seek redress for wrongs. . . . 

The article:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/03/how-each-pillar-of-the-1st-amendment-is-under-attack/

Opinion by Michael I. Kotlikoff

Cornell University recently hosted an event that any reputable P.R. firm would surely have advised against. On a calm campus, in a semester unroiled by protest, we chose to risk stirring the waters by organizing a panel discussion that brought together Israeli and Palestinian voices with an in-person audience open to all.

We held the event in our largest campus space, promoted it widely and devoted significant resources to hosting Salam Fayyad, a former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority; Tzipi Livni, a former vice prime minister and foreign minister of Israel; and Daniel B. Shapiro, a former United States ambassador to Israel, in a discussion moderated by Ryan Crocker, a career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to countries in some of the world’s most combustible regions.

The week before, I extended a personal invitation to our student community, explaining that open inquiry “is the antidote to corrosive narratives” and is what enables us “to see and respect other views, work together across differences and conceive of solutions to intractable problems.”

Was I surprised when the discussion was almost immediately interrupted by protest? Disappointed, yes, but not surprised or deterred. We had expected it and were prepared. The few students and staff members who had come only to disrupt were warned, warned again and then swiftly removed. They now face university discipline.

Inside the auditorium, the event went on as planned. . . . 

--Michael I. Kotlikoff, president of Cornell University and professor of molecular physiology.

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/opinion/ideas-universities-controversey-protest.html

A Day at the 'Anti-Woke' University Funded by Billionaire Trump Backers [ WSJ ]

Most college students are taking online classes, but they’re paying just as much as in-person students [ hechingerreport.org ]

The flava:

Emma Bittner considered getting a master’s degree in public health at a nearby university, but the in-person program cost tens of thousands of dollars more than she had hoped to spend.

So she checked out master’s degrees she could pursue remotely, on her laptop, which she was sure would be much cheaper.

The price for the same degree, online, was … just as much. Or more.

“I’m, like, what makes this worth it?” said Bittner, 25, who lives in Austin, Texas. “Why does it cost that much if I don’t get meetings face-to-face with the professor or have the experience in person?”

Among the surprising answers is that colleges and universities are charging more for online education to subsidize everything else they do, online managers say. Huge sums are also going into marketing and advertising for it, documents show.

The article:

https://hechingerreport.org/as-online-higher-education-hits-a-milestone-why-does-it-still-cost-so-much/

How Niche Programs Are Saving Higher Education [ Forbes ]

The flava: 

Higher education institutions must rethink their strategies to stay relevant in today's increasingly competitive landscape. As enrollment numbers dwindle, financial pressures mount, and competition from alternative education options rises, many schools seek ways to differentiate themselves. Higher education institutions marketed themselves for decades as one-size-fits-all solutions, offering broad liberal arts curricula and traditional majors. However, a new strategy is emerging as the landscape shifts: niche programs catering to high-demand, specialized fields. One of the most effective ways to do so is by offering specialized programs not widely available elsewhere. In an era where niche knowledge and skill sets are in high demand, universities that cater to specific industries or unique interests can position themselves as leaders in their fields. . . . 

The article:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottwhite/2025/03/16/how-niche-programs-are-saving-higher-education/

Lee Bollinger presents his thoughts

I can’t comment specifically on current responses among universities, in part because they are facing an extremely difficult and, I would say, unprecedented political environment and, in part, because they are being put in a vise of dealing with an admittedly serious problem and being presented with an existential threat by forces unclear about what they really want. I can, however, make more general comments.

First, I believe universities must understand what their identity is, their role in the society, and then express and defend that identity. It is my view that the First Amendment should extend special protections to universities just as it arguably does for the press, as institutions of systemic importance serving the public’s interest in advancing understanding and knowledge and in informing the public about vital issues. Courts have afforded universities important protections because they are part of the bedrock of American values, reflected in the Constitution. Universities need to articulate that special role and defend it.

Second, I think that seeking shelter in the courts is most often the necessary path. I share the view of those who argue that the government cannot intrude into university decision-making without compelling reasons, whether directly or by placing unconstitutional conditions on funding. When I became president of the University of Michigan, I was immediately informed that we were the next target of the anti-affirmative action movement. This was an attack on a core value of the institution, and settlement or capitulation was not an option in my view. We ended up successfully making that case in the Supreme Court.

And, third, it is always important to take the long view, and we must make sure that when we emerge from whatever present crisis we are in, the choices we made will not make us ashamed. Universities last for centuries. . . .

We’re in the midst of an authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government. It’s been coming and coming, and not everybody is prepared to read it that way. The characters regarded as people to emulate, like Orban and Putin and so on, all indicate that the strategy is to create an illiberal democracy or an authoritarian democracy or a strongman democracy. That’s what we’re experiencing. Our problem in part is a failure of imagination. We cannot get ourselves to see how this is going to unfold in its most frightening versions. You neutralize the branches of government; you neutralize the media; you neutralize universities, and you’re on your way.

We’re beginning to see the effects on universities. It’s very, very frightening.

--Lee Bollinger, former president of Columbia University and the University of Michigan

podcasts this week: Grammar Girl, Fresh Air, & The Key with Inside Higher Ed