#NICAR26 bsky.app/profile/did:...

SOME PERSONAL NEWS: I’m on the journalism job market again! (More below) From business, ed, legal, breaking & investigative reporting, to data & research skills rooted in Python, R & AI — I can deliver for your newsroom. Email me at [email protected] & I’ll see u @ #NICAR (1/10)

Legal nerds: Need a refresher on SCOTUS rulings weighing civil rights vs. freedom of association, per OCR's demands of the U. of Kentucky re:PhD Project? pres.uky.edu/news/importa... @johninazu.bsky.social's paper answered many Qs. digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcont...

NEW @chronicle.com: I sat down with the chancellors of Vanderbilt and WashU to talk about how they believe #HigherEd should respond to Trumpism, and the pushback that stance has gotten from their peers. #AcademicSky

On all days — but especially TODAY — a book recommendation relevant for the moment ... www.amazon.com/Amusing-Ours...

Ah, nothing like being the main character in your own modern-day morality tale -- for choosing to engage with someone online, and then immediately regretting your role in 'feeding the beast ...' Apologies, everyone. You all know who you are.

Inbox: Siena Heights University in Michigan to close next year.

In light of this morning's letter from the White House antisemitism task force to Harvard — which found Harvard "in violent violation of Title VI" — here's @franciediep.bsky.social and @erickelderman.bsky.social on what a deal between the parties might mean for #HigherEd. #AcademicSky

www.chronicle.com/article/6-st... Thursday’s announcement didn’t offer many specifics — including about how the organization would work, when it might be operational, and whether the campuses in participating university systems would even seek accreditation from the new commission.

Trump, who said last year that he had “saved” historically Black colleges, has canceled $140 million in grants to them since March. Agencies told HBCUs “to change the language in grant applications that explicitly focus on Black people — or lose federal funding.” www.chronicle.com/article/hbcu...

Any idea on the limiting principles here, @stevevladeck.bsky.social, @edlawdude.bsky.social, or other legal eagles? If all DOJ needs is an agreeable state AG and district judge to invalidate a passed state law, that seems like pretty easy loophole for any prez to exploit. bsky.app/profile/did:...

AND JUST LIKE THAT: US DOJ, Texas AG Ken Paxton & judge Reed O'Connor have permanently enjoined enforcement of a 2001 state law allowing immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Texas public colleges. Texas lawmakers failed earlier this week to repeal the law. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

We've got the latest on what's happening with the National Science Foundation in @chronicle.com's Trump tracker:

NEW: The Trump administration is accusing Harvard of not being “fully transparent or complete” in its disclosure of foreign gifts and contracts to the federal government. Here’s what you need to know about the new foreign-funds investigation. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

A Chronicle investigation has found that a federal loan program for rural colleges can threaten their long-term survival by saddling them with new debt and not delivering enrollment increases. chroni.cl/3YtzZ0j

After Echo Kellum Very Important People ep, if @pftompkins.bsky.social @brennanleemulligan.bsky.social @scrambieggs.bsky.social took it personally, I'd understand ...

DHS Secretary Noem threatens to terminate Havard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification if it doesn't turn over student records.

Harvard faculty are suing DOJ, challenging "the Trump administration’s unlawful and unprecedented misuse of federal funding and civil rights enforcement authority to undermine academic freedom and free speech on a university campus." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

DOJ Launches Compliance Review Investigation into Admissions Policies at Stanford U. and Several University of California Schools, Per White House "Mandate to End Illegal DEI Policies" www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attor...

Republican lawmakers cut millions in funding from Utah's public universities. To get it back, universities must overhaul their academic programs. Universities face cutting majors, laying off employees, and potentially eliminating entire colleges. chroni.cl/4hLmK1t

NEW: During these mass interruptions in NIH funding, scientists have been screaming for help from their institutions. I wrote about the handful of universities that are trying to keep researchers afloat by offering bridge funding — will there be enough to go around? www.chronicle.com/article/face...

"On October 8, 1931, a law went into effect requiring every Italian university professor to sign an oath pledging their loyalty to the government of Benito Mussolini. Out of over 1,200 professors in the country, only 12 refused. All of them were immediately fired." www.chronicle.com/article/what...

For @chronicle.com, Maya Stahl has the specifics on Columbia's agreement with the Trump admin. It's not clear whether $400M in federal funding that hangs in the balance will be restored, but in the meantime, one professor told me, "It feels like we just gave our values away.” #AcademicSky #HigherEd

“Columbia is not some small, under-resourced institution unable to fight back. If this institution, with a strong legal case, does not push back, that sends a pretty chilling message to the American academy generally.” - @sbagen.bsky.social, law professor at @umichlaw.bsky.social (paywall)

Legal Eagles: Beyond Congress, any theories on how third parties would plausibly attempt to establish standing for a lawsuit seeking to pause or invalidate this move? I'm coming up blank. www.cnbc.com/2025/03/21/s...

National Endowment of the Arts will not award grants under its Cultural and Community Resilience program going forward. NEH awarded several colleges such grants previously. Per DOGE, I haven't seen any indication those active grants have been cancelled. www.neh.gov/executive-or...