In 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17 into law, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at public institutions across the state. In the years since, the University of Texas at Austin has been steadily remaking itself in the image demanded by conservative legislators across town.
The world has been racing toward a more digital-first existence for some time now, and many believe we're actually most of the way there already. One of the key components of that existence is a digital financial system, but Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have already shown us that the concept is certainly viable. Like it or not, the world is shifting in a more digitized direction, whether we like it or not.
Known as ExStra, this is a permanent national funding programme designed to strengthen research at the nation's top universities and make them more competitive internationally. While the ExStra programme allows for up to 15 "Excellent Universities" (Exzellenzuniversitaten), only ten institutions have made the grade for the next round of funding.
On a chilly day before Christmas, Teresa Rivas helped a tween boy pick out a new winter coat. "Get the bigger one, the one with the waterproof layer, mijo," she said, before helping him pull it onto his string-bean frame. Rivas provides guidance counseling at Owen Goodnight Middle School in San Marcos, Texas. She talks with students about their goals and helps if they're struggling in class. She's also a trained navigator placed there by a nonprofit called Communities in Schools.
Welp. They've done did it. The Texas Supreme Court has officially ended its overt reliance on the ABA to accredit its law schools. From now on (or until they outsource the responsibility onto someone else), the Lone Star State's Supreme Court will call the shots on which law schools are qualified to crank out its future lawyers. Bloomberg Law has coverage:
The campaign points employers to our Industry Support Hub, a central conduit that helps businesses hire students, build internship programs, collaborate with faculty and utilize our campus facilities. This work complements and supports CUNY Beyond, our university-wide initiative to foster career readiness. Launched in the fall, CUNY Beyond is all about preparing students for what comes next. Power Your Business with CUNY brings employers into that journey, connecting classroom learning to workplace opportunity.
This is a striking decision at a moment when public confidence in higher education is eroding. It is also puzzling because rigorous research and evaluation have demonstrated, over and over, the value of the work of centers for teaching and learning, including positive impacts on student learning outcomes, institutional effectiveness and faculty development.
This moment reflects the best of who we are as an institution-thoughtful, mission-driven and committed to strengthening health sciences education for the long term. By integrating UHSP's pharmacy program, we are building on a legacy of partnership and taking a forward-looking step to ensure that pharmacy education in St. Louis continues to thrive.
"At this time, no changes to faculty or staff positions, reporting structures, or job responsibilities are planned," Mario Torres, dean of UTSA's College of Education and Human Development, wrote in an email, according to the Express-News. He described the change as "an exciting opportunity" that would lead to a "more prosperous future" for the academic programs. He said a task force composed of faculty, students and staff would help shape the new department.
While community college advocates argued the lower-cost degrees would benefit students in a state with vast rural expanses and education deserts, private universities countered that community colleges are stepping out of bounds and infringing on their territory. Greg Steinke, the president of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, even went so far as to say the move could put some institutions out of business, telling lawmakers a few weeks ago that "without any question and without any doubt," if the bill passed, "some of our private colleges will close."
Toby Arquette, vice president for strategic growth, marketing and digital transformation at St. Ambrose University in Iowa, will become president of Columbia College, headquartered in Missouri, starting March 1. Matt Baker, vice president of student affairs at Northwest Missouri State University, has been named president of Emporia State University in Kansas, effective March 2. Scott Beardsley, dean of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, has been named president of the university, effective Jan. 1.
"We're bringing together two really significant and very diverse institutions, and it's a big-scale operation, so we'll be able to look at a lot of things across a lot of different environments," said Mindy Tarlow, senior fellow and professor at NYU's Marron Institute of Urban Management, where the lab will initially be housed.
