Alex FriedrichThe Koch brothers’ influence on college campus is spreading The billionaires’ proselytizing of government deregulation and pro-business civics is increasingly targeted not just at creatures of Capitol Hill, or couch sitters in swing states, but at the hearts and minds of American college students, as well. (The Washington Post) College Football Labor Decision May Hurt Read more →
MPR News Intelligence on higher education
Archives for March 2014
A federal decision to allow Northwestern University football players to unionize will have little immediate impact on major universities like the University of Minnesota, but it could portend big changes down the road. The decision “has huge implications,” said Steven Silton, a Minneapolis attorney who has worked with both professional athletes and sports franchises. As Read more →
College athletes can unionize, federal agency says In a stunning ruling that could revolutionize a college sports industry worth billions of dollars and have dramatic repercussions at schools coast to coast, a federal agency said Wednesday that football players at Northwestern University can create the nation’s first union of college athletes. (Associated Press) How one college Read more →
Just got this announcement from the U. Apparently the proposal is more of a “dream list,” and the formal bill hasn’t been released yet: Chair’s bonding bill for U of M a ‘strong boost’ for Minnesota’s economy University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler today called House Capital Investment Chair Alice Hausman’s bonding proposal for the Read more →
A Senate committee has approved a bill requiring colleges to report how safe their study-abroad programs are. The measure, discussed Thursday, would require schools to provide safety records — details on deaths, accidents and illnesses of students participating in sanctioned study-abroad programs. Elizabeth Brenner, the mother of Minnetonka student who died during a 2011 study-abroad Read more →
Russia’s plagiarism problem: Even Putin has done it! So many businessmen, academics and high-ranking government officials — President Vladimir Putin included — have been found to have plagiarized their college and doctoral theses that Russia’s education minister just denounced the revelations, saying they were hurting Russia’s reputation. (The Washington Post) The Hidden College Problem: When Universities, Read more →
Trustees of the state’s college and university system have chosen interim or permanent presidents for three of its colleges: Minnesota West Community & Technical College: Barbara McDonald (interim) Alexandria Technical & Community College: Laura Urban Minnesota State College – Southeast Technical: Dorothy Duran Below are excerpts from the MnSCU announcements. Minnesota West: [McDonald’s] appointment becomes Read more →
Student Deaths Spark Debate Over Hazing at Portugal’s Universities Where academic achievement has often failed to create distinction, hazing, known as praxes in Portuguese, has taken on a new and prominent place at the country’s newer private universities, with some having their identity closely tied to the ritual. (The New York Times) A different way Read more →
Looks like MnSCU’s Charting the Future plan caught the eye of the Gates Foundation. Got this announcement today: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities has been selected by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to join a nationwide group of higher education systems learning about higher education transformation at a system level and solving collective issues Read more →
This announcement from St. Ben’s: College of Saint Benedict names Mary Hinton as 15th President Mary Hinton has been selected as the 15th president of the College of Saint Benedict. Hinton, who currently serves as the vice president for academic affairs at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY, will take office on June 15, Read more →