Category: Education (higher ed)
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SCHEV on the Community College Guaranteed Admission and Credits Programs
by James C. Sherlock I received a note from Peter Blake, director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), in reference to my column on that program in early July. He thanked, as do I, readers for their interest and supportive comments. We agree with you that (Community College Guaranteed Admissions and…
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Tech to End Racial and Legacy Preferences in Admissions
by James A. Bacon In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Virginia Tech has announced that it will eliminate race and legacy status as factors in admissions. Information about an individual’s race/ethnicity will no longer be visible during the application process. “Much of our recent success in attracting and graduating students from underrepresented…
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Just Because
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Glenn Youngkin seems to be intent on replacing members of higher education boards of education appointed by his Democratic predecessors just because. Case in point: N.H. “Cookie” Scott. Scott was one among the first Black students to enroll at Longwood University in Farmville in 1968 and the first to graduate four years…
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Bettinger v. Ryan, Groves and UVa
The Jefferson Council has obtained a file-stamped copy of a lawsuit filed on behalf of Morgan Bettinger against University of Virginia President Jim Ryan, former Dean of Students Allen Groves, and the University of Virginia. The allegations must be demonstrated in court. If proven true, they paint an unflattering picture of civil rights (for anyone…
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Shocking Omission at Sank Roo Doo Noo
Sank Roo Doo Noo. Now that is an easy address in Paris to memorize, and that phonetic spelling for 5 Rue Daunou (a few blocks from the Opera stop on the Paris Metro and the main Galeries Lafayette) has long replaced the official address. Anything associated with Ernest Hemingway and the other American expatriates in…
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UVa Donations Skewed More Democratic Than Ever in 2022
by James A. Bacon You’ve finally heard it from someone other than The Jefferson Council: political donations by University of Virginia employees skew overwhelmingly to the left. In the 2022 election cycle, found Daily Progress reporter Luke Fountain, “UVa faculty and staff favored Democratic candidates over Republican candidates, based on donations, by a ratio of…
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Affirmative Action for the Rich
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It turns out that, when it comes to admission to elite universities, kids from rich families have not only the advantages that are inherent with their background — top prep schools, tutors, an upbringing full of varied experiences, etc.— they have one more advantage — simply being rich. A recently released study…
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Hadley Departs UVa Without Explanation
Robyn Hadley, the University of Virginia’s dean of students, will leave her job effective Aug. 1, announced President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom yesterday in a letter to the university community. The letter provided no explanation for Hadley’s sudden departure. Hadley had served two years in the position, which oversees 300 employees engaged with…
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Info-Wars at UVa: Who Decides What the BoV Needs to Hear?
by James A. Bacon Last October University of Virginia Provost Ian Baucom briefed the Faculty Senate executive committee about a package of four multimillion-dollar academic initiatives that were in the works. The camera angle in the video recording shows him as a tiny, barely discernible figure at the far end of a long conference table.…
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Too Fearful to Cross the Rubicon
by Donald Smith Maximus: Still no word? Quintus: Not a sign. Maximus: How long has he been gone? Quintus: Nearly two hours. “He” was a Roman liaison sent to see if the Germanic tribes lined up across the valley from Maximus’ (and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius’) legions wanted to avoid a fight. Shortly after Maximus’…
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Empty, Airy Words
by James A. Bacon After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling restricting the use of race as a higher-ed admissions criteria, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom released a statement proclaiming that they would do everything in their power to admit a class of students that is “diverse across every…
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Well, They Went and Done It
Washington & Lee has set a new precedent in the culture wars — it has cancelled a horse. Robert E. Lee’s horse Traveller, to be precise. A plaque dedicated to the memory of the renowned steed was removed yesterday in a larger purge of references to its rider, who salvaged the university from extinction after…
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Now They’re Going After Lee’s Horse!
from The General’s Redoubt Washington and Lee President William C. Dudley is hell-bent on eliminating all references to Robert E. Lee from the campus of W&L. And now that Lee has been almost completely erased, Dudley is going after Traveller. That’s right. We’re not exaggerating! Robert E. Lee’s beloved equestrian companion, who served with Lee…
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Public Confidence in Higher-Ed Is Hemorrhaging
I started sounding the alarm years ago: through soaring tuition and leftist orthodoxy, higher-ed institutions would lose the support of a broad swath of the American people. At some point, parents rebel against paying small fortunes to have their kids indoctrinated to reject their values. As the latest Gallup poll shows, a steadily declining percentage…
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UVa Admissions Trends: Whites Down, Asians Up, Blacks a Question Mark
by James A. Bacon As the University of Virginia community debates the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of race in higher-ed admissions, The Jefferson Council is publishing publicly available data that provide context for the discussion. UVa’s office of Institutional Research and Analysis publishes three types of admissions data (applications,…