Free Republic

George Mason University will rename their law school "The Antonin Scalia School of Law" after receiving two donations totaling $30 million. These gifts are the largest in school history. While the name change isn't official yet, everything is expected to be switched to the new name by July. (To avoid the awkward acronym that many pointed out was formed by the new name, the school will probably be referred to as "Scalia Law School.") The change still needs a final go-ahead from Virginia’s higher education oversight agency, which is expected to give its blessing. The school’s dean expects that people...

The George Mason School of Law will be renamed in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who died earlier this year. The university announced Thursday that it has received $30 million in combined gifts to the George Mason Foundation to support the law school, the largest gift in the university’s history. The donations make possible three new scholarship programs. Twenty million dollars came from an anonymous donor, and $10 million came from the Charles Koch Foundation, which has given millions of dollars to colleges in the United States. The family is well known for its...

The president of the evangelical Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Dr. Everett Piper, was adamant about sending children to the right university and academic institution, in his recent interview with The Daily Caller’s Ginni Thomas. When Thomas asked him what could be done about sending children to liberal institutions, Piper said, "Stop sending your kids to these institutions that teach this pablum." Then, he gives advice on how to distinguish what universities are teaching their students. "Obviously, it can be found out easily by checking the news," he said. But, he added, if you have reservations about the institution, "do two simple...

The school took action this week on two diversity demands, hiring a chief diversity officer and requiring students to complete diversity-themed courses. Still reeling from last year’s student protests, the University of Missouri took action this week on two more diversity demands, hiring a chief diversity officer and requiring students to complete diversity-themed courses. The College of Arts and Science at Mizzou announced Wednesday that undergraduates will now have to complete three credit-hours of “diversity intensive” (DI) courses in order to graduate, saying the courses will focus on “understanding differing social groups” and “will explore at least one form of...

<p>University students across the country -- at Amherst, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, UC Berkeley and dozens of other campuses -- are caught up in yet another new fad.</p> <p>This time, the latest college craze is a frenzied attempt to rename campus buildings and streets. Apparently some of those names from the past do not fit students' present litmus tests on race, class and gender correctness.</p>

Under state rules, the first two years of promise zones must be funded through philanthropy. Beginning in 2018, the Detroit Promise will be funded by increases in property tax revenue based on the 6 mills of the State Education Tax; the program will capture half of any increase in property tax revenue from the SET, officials said. Detroit Public Schools interim superintendent Alycia Meriweather told students gathered at a news conference that it’s now up to them to be prepared for college, by getting good grades. “You have an opportunity today that all the rest of us who grew up...

This past June, American academia went into an uproar over Gov. Scott Walker’s new budget in Wisconsin,....Specifically,any professor in the system—tenured or not—could be dismissed or laid off by the 18-member Board of Regents using maddeningly vague criteria:“when such an action is deemed necessary due to a budget or program decision requiring program discontinuance,curtailment,modification or redirection.”This,when combined with the faculty’s diminished role in governing the university—and thus determining such things as which programs should continue, be curtailed, or get modified—basically meant that these regents—16 of whom were appointed by Walker—could fire anyone,at any time, for any reason.[SNIP]Professors do not want...

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The Executive Leadership Series at Regent University is proud to present the Presidential Candidate Forums. Join us throughout the coming months at Regent University as we introduce some of our nation's top presidential candidates through a series of informative discussions and Q & A. The forums will provide candidates the opportunity to share their campaign platforms in a balanced, non-debate format. FREE Simulcast Due to the high demand for these events and the limited seating of our venue, all theater tickets for these events have been spoken for at this time. As an alternative, we invite you to join us...

Two weeks ago, the University released the final version of its diversity and inclusion action plan, which could not have been compiled without the exhaustive efforts of students throughout last semester. "There are people breaking down, dropping out of classes and failing classes because of the activism work they are taking on," said David, an undergraduate whose name has been changed to preserve anonymity. Throughout the year, he has worked to confront issues of racism and diversity on campus. His role as a student activist has taken a toll on his mental, physical and emotional health. "My grades dropped dramatically....

The funny thing about working in engineering is that your education is never really over. Innovation is constantly reshaping the concepts and processes you find in various areas of engineering, so the professionals focused on these fields have to be on their toes to learn the latest and greatest advancements. A decent chunk of this learning is done through experience, but sometimes you need to jump start it with a course or two. And who better to do that with than MIT, Boeing and NASA? That’s right: The biggest names in engineering are teaming up to develop the ultimate systems...

There are a number of significant challenges in higher education today, including rising costs, diminishing returns, and the stifling effects of runaway political correctness on academic inquiry. That being said, it’s not all bad news. In fact, there are a number of hopeful, emerging trends that promise to create new and expanded opportunities for students while fostering a healthier campus intellectual climate: 1. Declining Number of Applicants – The number of college applicants peaked in 2009… around the same time the number of jobs for graduates bottomed out. What a disaster! Since then, due to demographic realities, the number...

A growing number of colleges have made the SAT or ACT optional. And late last year, more than 80 colleges, including all eight in the Ivy League, announced the formation of the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, which is developing a website and application process intended in part to diversify student bodies. Colleges are becoming more conscious of their roles - too frequently neglected - in social mobility. They're recognizing how many admissions measures favor students from affluent families. They're realizing that many kids admitted into top schools are emotional wrecks or slavish adherents to soulless scripts that forbid...

Donald Trump frequently tells crowds that he went to Wharton, as a credential to prove that he is intelligent: "I went to the Wharton School of Business," he noted several times. "I'm, like, a really smart person." "Why do you have to tell us all the time that you went to Wharton?” moderator Chuck Todd asked. "People know you're successful." "They know it's a great business school," Trump replied. You might be forgiven for thinking from this, as I did, that Trump has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. He doesn't. He actually has an undergraduate degree for...

In last year’s roundup of the top stories of the year, I argued that 2014 was the year we were all drafted into the culture wars. “This is the year when we were served noticed that we won’t be allowed to stand on the sidelines, because we will not be allowed to think differently from the left.” The signature story of the year was the comet shirt guy, a mild-mannered scientist caught wearing the wrong shirt on television. That case served notice that “To be targeted by accusations of misogyny, you don’t have to be a beer-chugging ‘bro’ who spends...

During Customs week, in PAF sessions, and in everyday discourse here at Haverford, we are taught to ask for help when we feel we need it, speak up when we feel uncomfortable, and prioritize our own well being over most other things. At McDonald's, acting in this way could have cost me my job, a job I needed to afford college... Those of us who need to work in order to support ourselves and pay tuition cannot afford to internalize the soft, self-centered mindset presented by our peers and customs folk at Haverford -- had I gone to a manager...

Many welcomed the launch of a new Web site by the U.S. Department of Education last month, designed to simplify higher education decisions by offering information. By combining multiple sources of federal data, the scorecard lets families compare colleges based on a range of variables, such as student debt levels, graduation rates and average alumni salaries. (It does not rate colleges, as the president had initially proposed.) But some critics argue that, while thousands of colleges are included, the site leaves out many schools which might be good options for students. How do you "misplace" more than 700 colleges? By...

A Wheaton College professor announced on Facebook Thursday night that she will be wearing a hijab (Muslim head scarf) throughout her celebration of the Advent as a way of showing solidarity with Muslims. Larycia Hawkins, a political science professor at the Wheaton, Illinois, evangelical higher education institution, explained on her Facebook page that she will be wearing a hijab to work, class, and church. She also vows to wear the hijab during her trip to Chicago and even when she goes on an airplane to return to her hometown for Christmas. "I don't love my Muslim neighbor because s/he is...

An professor at an Illinois Christian college was placed on leave Tuesday after wearing a headscarf to show solidarity with Muslims.Larycia Hawkins, who is a Christian and an associate professor of political science at Wheaton College in suburban Chicago, said Wednesday that her actions were demonstrations of her own faith. Hawkins began wearing a hijab to counter what she called the "vitriolic" rhetoric against Muslims in recent weeks."In the spirit of Advent, my actions were motivated by a desire to live out my faith. Period," Hawkins said Wednesday at a news conference at a Chicago church. Advent is the season...

College football players are gladiators of sorts. On the one hand, they are vastly underpaid for the risks they take as well as the profits they generate for the university and the scores of jobs they subsidize. On the other, in terms of college protocols, they are pampered and exempt from rules that other students follow. Being exploited and privileged is a bad combination. For half a century, liberals have pointed out that football players should drop the amateur pretense, join a semi-pro club, and make the money they deserve -- given that their admissions, grades, and class attendance are...