NEW: A year ago, the NIH said it would cap research-overhead costs, a change that would cost colleges billions. A ragtag group rallied behind a compromise plan—and it seems to have traction. Here's how higher ed staved off a research-funding bloodbath (for now): www.chronicle.com/article/how-...

At Ohio State U, faculty hiring committees sometimes explicitly considered candidates’ race and sex, in pursuit of diversity. I spent some time exploring how OSU, and all of higher ed, seemingly ignored both the legal and reputational risk staring it in the face. www.chronicle.com/article/dive...

NEW: Public universities in red states, from Texas to Florida, are increasingly required to make their syllabi public. The University of North Carolina may be next. Does "syllabi transparency" help combat distrust in higher ed, or feed ill-informed suspicions of it? www.chronicle.com/article/when...

Before the holiday break, you may have seen that a professor was detained by ICE en route to the Middle East Studies Association's conference. But you may have missed that a second professor was detained. Here's what we know:

A Conservative Student Got a Zero on Her Paper about Gender. Did She Deserve It? @emmajanepettit.bsky.social reports www.chronicle.com/article/a-co...

My colleague @shenandoahkate.bsky.social breaks down what you need to know about fmr UVA president James Ryan's letter to the faculty senate about his resignation www.chronicle.com/article/stun...

Many Colleges Have Turned Down Trump’s Compact. Now Some Are Willing to Talk. @mzahneis.bsky.social reports: www.chronicle.com/article/many...

This is an eye-opening Q&A about being a college president today. We all know it's a tough job. Still, I was surprised by depths of some of the challenges these two faced: www.chronicle.com/article/two-...

Not the best news for higher ed: seven in ten Americans, and majorities of those who lean right and left, say the sector is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new Pew survey. www.chronicle.com/article/amer...

Breaking: Trump's higher-ed compact is open to all, I confirmed for @chronicle.com: www.chronicle.com/blogs/the-tr... “We welcome any institution that wants to adopt these principles to sign the compact,” a source told me.

This is an incredibly helpful and context-rich breakdown of the "compact" that the Trump administration has sent to nine universities, offering them an edge in federal funding. Written by many of my brilliant colleagues www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

Some Republican lawmakers have threatened to pull funding or enact other consequences if the colleges don't fire employees who criticized Charlie Kirk after his death. Here's a list of who's been fired, suspended, expelled, or disciplined so far.

The @aaup.org has earned kudos for going toe-to-toe with the Trump administration. It has also taken heat for, in critics' minds, becoming too partisan. I interviewed the org's president, @proftwolf.bsky.social, about what he makes of those criticisms. Read here! www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...

Two-thirds of college presidents are “extremely” or “moderately” concerned about the impact of immigration restrictions or visa revocations on higher education, according to a new survey by @aceducation.bsky.social www.chronicle.com/newsletter/l...

"For free-speech devotees, it’s been a whirlwind week in which arguments in favor of censoring speech considered disturbing and disrespectful — a cause more prominently associated with the left, in recent yrs — were adopted by the right, and thrust into overdrive." www.chronicle.com/article/with...

Facing backlash for employees' social media posts, Clemson University stated that the right to free speech does not extend to rhetoric that "incites harm" or “undermines the dignity of others.”

On the most recent episode of College Matters from @chronicle.com, the conservative activist Chris Rufo talks to my colleague @jackstripling.bsky.social about his incredibly successful pressure campaign to eradicate DEI from higher ed, and much more: www.chronicle.com/podcast/coll...

Quite the story.

I'm on @nature.com's podcast talking to @nickpetrichowe.bsky.social about the role that journalists can play in combating research misconduct. Honored to appear alongside @jamesheathers.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social, @richvn.bsky.social and many others: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A palate cleanser (kind of): I wrote about a student government election that went totally off the rails, at Ohio State University. There were claims of wrongdoing, counterclaims, counter-counterclaims, appeals to authority, to civil rights orgs, and more: www.chronicle.com/article/camp...

Details on Charlie Kirk's suspected shooter are emerging, but there's still much unknown about what the Kirk killing will mean for #HigherEd and the nation. @chronicle.com's @jackstripling.bsky.social and @ngluckman.bsky.social have some analysis in a quick-turn episode of our podcast.

An academic freedom showdown is brewing at Texas A&M. Per the U, over the summer, an instructor taught content that was irrelevant to her course. She did the same this fall, so she had to go. But free speech experts say that reasoning smells of pretense. www.chronicle.com/article/was-...

A case to watch at Texas A&M: A student and instructor for a children's lit class got into a back-and-forth over the prof's teaching of "gender identity and transgenderism." The prof eventually booted the student. Clips went viral... www.chronicle.com/article/a-cl...

SCOOP: The NIH is moving to prohibit funded scientists, inside and outside the agency, from collecting data about gender, according to a draft policy I obtained. It’s part of the NIH’s aggressive crackdown on gender-identity research. www.chronicle.com/article/gend...

A 1991 warning from Harvard's then president predicted the blowback that would happen if "wokeness" or "political correctness" took over higher education. The report looks more prescient than ever. chroni.cl/45u4xBH

There's a rift among higher-ed critics who generally agree the sector is too aligned with the political left. First, are colleges as captured as Chris Rufo and co. say they are? Second, should the federal gov't flex its muscle, or is internal reform possible? www.chronicle.com/article/they...

Of Santa Ono's pummeling by Florida's Board of Governors, one former UF administrator tells @jackstripling.bsky.social and @reporterdavidj.bsky.social: “They did a remarkable job, if you like executions.” Their story on what Ono's denial means for the sector: www.chronicle.com/article/he-w...

At UC Berkeley, an anonymous survey asked professors if they think higher ed's critics have a point. More than half of respondents indicated yes, according to results I obtained: www.chronicle.com/article/at-u...

This is a really thoughtful piece on the substantial budget challenges facing Sonoma State University. Quite a few regional public and private universities are having similar--and difficult--conversations as enrollment has fallen over the last decade.

This week on College Matters from The Chronicle: Why this professor wants colleges to nurture and educate conservative students. chroni.cl/3EZZC22

Took a papal victory lap in @chronicle.com's Daily Briefing newsletter! Subscribe if you want higher ed news, analysis, and my occasional jokes in your inbox every morning. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/d...

NEW: My latest story is about a surprising turn of events. A handful of scientists had NIH grants terminated by the Trump administration earlier this year — and now those grants are getting *reinstated*. Yes, you read that right. www.chronicle.com/article/thes...

NEW: Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi walked out of court today after a judge ordered his immediate release from ICE detention. His words to Trump: "I am not afraid of you." w/ Liz Crampton www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

“We’re seeing the manipulation of the system, where now politicians are deciding where the money should go or what science is and is not, rather than the scientists themselves.” @mzahneis.bsky.social reports on the millions in canceled NSF grants: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

This is a fascinating deep dive into New College of Florida following its political and academic transitions in recent years. It's well worth your time to read.