In this week's roundup:
fewer men are attending college, high gas prices have caused a 4-day in-person work week, and student-athletes face opposition to getting paid.
June 9-15
- Twenty Hispanic-serving institutions have joined together to form the Hispanic Serving Research Universities Alliance. The newly formed alliance’s goals include doubling the number of Hispanic doctoral students and increasing the number of Hispanic faculty members.
- The male graduation gap has grown deeper as a result of the pandemic. Male enrollment has declined by 8.6% while female enrollment decreased by 6.5%. This is part of a growing trend with fewer men attending and graduating from college.
- Resources may soon become available for undocumented students who are struggling to pay tuition at Arizona institutions.
- Commencement at the University of California-Davis was cut short due to excessive heat. The record-breaking heat at the ceremony resulted in several hospitalizations and some graduates were unable to walk across the stage.
- High gas prices are the predominant reason that a community college is choosing to operate virtually on Fridays. Southwestern Community College in Sylva, North Carolina, will keep its campus open Monday-Thursday and have “Virtual Fridays” from June 10 to August 5.
- The State Higher Education Finance report found that state higher education funding had risen 4.5% in 2021. The report also includes the tenth consecutive year of declining enrollment.
- Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels will step down at the end of this calendar year after a decade as president of Purdue University. Daniels’ departure is part of a growing trend of presidents leaving their position amidst political and economic stresses, as well as the pandemic.
- The American Council on Education is among several higher education groups which oppose paying student-athletes like employees. The organization’s main argument is that student-athletes are students first.
- Venture Capital firm Kairos Ventures raised $58 million for its latest venture fund for scientific research. The firm focuses on life and physical science technology.
- Former students of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have settled an 8-year-old lawsuit against the institution over the dissolution of the student government association.
