Category: Education (higher ed)
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Bacon Bits: More Mad-As-Hell Stories
Ditch the name, keep the money. The University of Richmond recently removed the name of T.C. Williams from its law school because he owned slaves, even though, his descendants say, he contributed to the demise of slavery. Now the same descendants are arguing that the university should refund the money Williams donated to the institution…
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Hokies, Join the Resistance!
From Campus Reform: Virginia Tech prof accuses student of spreading misinformation, threatens to delete discussion board posts A pro-life student at Virginia Tech was publicly accused of spreading misinformation by her professor after submitting a discussion board assignment expressing pro-life views. After being admonished publicly, student Alyssa Jones met with her professor and recorded the…
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Graduating Snowflakes into the Workforce
by James A. Bacon More than half (51%) of young professionals in the United States report emotional or mental-health issues, according to a survey just released by the Mary Christie Institute, American Association of Colleges and Universities, and allied organizations. Sixty-eight percent of men reported good or excellent mental health compared to 45% for women.…
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Senate Subcommittee Nixes DEI Transparency
by James A. Bacon A General Assembly senate subcommittee has voted down a bill that would require public Virginia colleges and universities to report the number and salaries of employees in the field of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, had sponsored the bill, SB 1197, which also called for disclosure of sums…
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Dominion Energy Scholarships Define “Communities” by Race
By Carol J. Bova Dominion Energy is offering 60 undergraduate Equitable Education Scholarships totaling $500,000 for “students from historically underrepresented communities.” The rules exclude White students (unless they identify as Hispanic), no matter what “community” they’re from, because to be eligible, applicants must: — Self-identify as Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino; American Indian…
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What Happened to All Those Promises to Defend Virginia’s Heritage?
by Donald Smith Many Bacon’s Rebellion readers — me included — worry that Virginia’s history is being erased and scourged and its heroes demeaned. The November 2021 state elections gave us cause for cheer. During his campaign, Glenn Youngkin indicated that he would stand up to the “Wokerati” working their way through the Old Dominion’s…
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The Alumni Rebellion Spreads to JMU
by James A. Bacon A group of James Madison University alumni has organized a new group, the Madison Cabinet for Free Speech and Accountability, to promote “freedom of expression, intellectual diversity, and academic freedom on campus.” The JMU group marks the fourth university in Virginia to organize in protest of the takeover of an institution…
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UVa Student Council Peddles Its Character Assassination to the General Assembly
by James A. Bacon The executive board of the University of Virginia Student Council has asked the Virginia General Assembly to reject Governor Glenn Youngkin’s appointment of Bert Ellis to the Board of Visitors. The letter was addressed to Democratic Party leaders of the state Senate. The Senate is comprised of 22 Democrats and 18…
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Anti-Capitalism Packaged as Antiracism Teaches Failure in Virginia Schools
by James C. Sherlock I have spent the last 15 years or so studying and reporting on the decline of scholarship and the rise of censorship at the University of Virginia and other state institutions of “higher learning.” The enforced closing of minds has been targeted to resurrect an economic system that failed everywhere in…
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Freitas Introduces Higher-Ed Transparency Bill
by James A. Bacon Delegate Nicholas J. Freitas, R-Culpeper, has introduced a bill, HB 1800, that would bring much needed transparency to the governance of Virginia’s public higher-ed institutions. The bill was cited in a list of priority legislation backed by Attorney General Jason Miyares. The bill contains several elements: Governing boards of public colleges…
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UVa Grade Inflation Has Accelerated Since 2018
In the spring of 1992, the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of University of Virginia undergraduate students was 3.1, according to data maintained by the office of Institutional Research and Analysis. By 2021, the average GPA had soared to 3.6. Grade inflation is a national phenomenon in U.S. higher education, so there may be nothing…
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The Hidden Costs of DEI
by James A. Bacon According to a new report by the Virginia Association of Scholars, the University of Virginia in 2021 employed 77 people as part of the a vast and growing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy at a cost of nearly $7 million a year. Many questions arise from this revelation. What do…
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UVa’s DEI Bureaucracy: the Details
Here is the breakdown of DEI positions and salaries at the University of Virginia identified in the Virginia Association of Scholars report, “Should Virginians Pay for University ‘Diversity’ Leftism?” In 2020, UVa spent more money than any other public Virginia university on DEI staff and salaries. In 2021, UVa doubled the number of administrators and…
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$15 Million+ and Growing Fast
The Jefferson Council released the following press release at 1:00 p.m. today. The cost of Virginia’s higher-ed DEI bureaucracy is spinning out of control. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., January 6, 2023 – Virginia’s 15 public four-year universities paid its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion administrators more than $15 million in salaries in 2020, according to a new report, “Should Virginians…
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New VCCS Chancellor Focuses on Linking Industry and Education
by Shaun Kenney One of Virginia’s hidden jewels is our community college system. For both bang for the buck and ease of access, the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is perhaps one of our most underutilized resources, not simply because of the architecture or infrastructure, but because of the sheer quality of both the professors…