Sarah Brown
@brownepoints.bsky.social
News editor, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Marathon runner, horse girl, fantasy baseball amateur, UNC alum.
My colleague @ngluckman.bsky.social and I wrote a profile of Jennifer Mnookin, the incoming president of Columbia University. Fairly or not, Columbia has become a chaotic poster child for everything wrong with higher ed. Can Mnookin repair the community, and how? www.chronicle.com/article/can-...
Can Jennifer Mnookin Heal Columbia?
One of higher ed’s most skilled negotiators arrives at one of its most fractured campuses.
chronicle.com
This is a great and heartbreaking read — sort of about college and what it can be at its best, but really about male friendship.
The Epic Real-Life Friendship Behind an Acclaimed Novel
Lily King’s “Heart the Lover” commemorates three chums who bonded as students in Chapel Hill. Their friends recall an uncommon alliance that ended too soon.
theassemblync.com
SOME PERSONAL NEWS: I’m on the journalism job market again! (More below) From business, ed, legal, breaking & investigative reporting, to data & research skills rooted in Python, R & AI — I can deliver for your newsroom. Email me at danbauman77@gmail.com & I’ll see u @ #NICAR (1/10)
We're following how U.S. college campuses, programs, students, and faculty in the Middle East might be affected by war in Iran👇 www.chronicle.com/article/iran... Let us know what else you're seeing: news editor at @chronicle.com
Iran War Live Updates: Satellite Campuses Hunker Down as Conflict Expands
We’re tracking the latest developments on the federal government’s attempt to give preferential access to research funding to campuses that agree to policy changes.
chronicle.com
“Every class I go to, I’m thinking, do I run out of this class if I have to?” Such important journalism on the ground at Minnesota's colleges right now:
‘The Perception of Danger Everywhere’: Navigating Campus Life Amid ICE Enforcement
Locals, students, and college officials in the Twin Cities describe the mood as tense, apprehensive, and heavy.
chronicle.com
The Trump admin withdrew its appeal of a ruling against the Ed Dept's anti-DEI orders. So they're dead. For higher ed, tho, it won't make much difference. -Colleges already acted preemptively to alter/drop DEI efforts. -There's a DOJ memo says virtually the same thing as the Ed Dept guidance did.
Complaints over what's taught in college classrooms aren’t new. But only in the past decade have professors contended with the possibility that what happens in a class could be easily taped and shared. Now many faculty are walking on eggshells, wondering what that means for the future of learning.
First minor drama at #NACIQI: The election for a new chair. Nominees are Zakiya Smith-Ellis, appointed by Congressional Dems and a former Secretary of Higher Ed in NJ; and Jay Greene, a new member and former Heritage Foundation fellow appointed by ED. First round of voting ends in an 8-8 tie...
🧵 A dean is abruptly removed. Her account goes viral. At first, it looks like a fight over the humanities. But the more I reported on the University of Tulsa, the clearer it became: this controversy was just the entry point for a far larger institutional unraveling. (1/14)
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:
The Trump Administration Detained a Longtime Faculty Member, Saying He’s an Undocumented Immigrant
The government says Sumith Gunasekera of Ferris State University was ineligible for legal status in the United States due to 1998 criminal charges in Canada, including a sex offense.
chronicle.com
In a new deal with Trump, UVa agreed to adopt the administration's interpretation of DEI — in other words, that most diversity-related policies and programs are illegal discrimination
U. of Virginia Will Adopt Trump’s Interpretation of DEI in Federal Deal
The university has pledged to follow government guidance arguing that a wide range of diversity-related efforts and programs are illegal discrimination.
chronicle.com
In a new deal with Trump, UVa agreed to adopt the administration's interpretation of DEI — in other words, that most diversity-related policies and programs are illegal discrimination
U. of Virginia Will Adopt Trump’s Interpretation of DEI in Federal Deal
The university has pledged to follow government guidance arguing that a wide range of diversity-related efforts and programs are illegal discrimination.
chronicle.com
UVA "would be required to continue to take steps to come into compliance with the administration’s expansive interpretation of a 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended explicit consideration of race in admissions to higher education, according to three people briefed on negotiations."
Larry Ferlazzo@larryferlazzo.bsky.social · 10mo agoWhite House Moves Toward Settlement With First Public University www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
Ok here's a new one: Vanderbilt's chancellor does NOT explicitly decline Trump's compact. He says, we interpreted the outreach as a chance to provide feedback to the White House, and we did that.
Compact Live Updates: U. of Arizona Says It Won’t Sign On, While Vanderbilt Describes ‘Ongoing Dialogue’
The Arizona flagship submitted a “statement of principles” to the government. Vanderbilt’s chancellor said “we have not been asked to accept or reject the draft compact,” and said the campus would pro...
chronicle.com
Ok here's a new one: Vanderbilt's chancellor does NOT explicitly decline Trump's compact. He says, we interpreted the outreach as a chance to provide feedback to the White House, and we did that.
Compact Live Updates: U. of Arizona Says It Won’t Sign On, While Vanderbilt Describes ‘Ongoing Dialogue’
The Arizona flagship submitted a “statement of principles” to the government. Vanderbilt’s chancellor said “we have not been asked to accept or reject the draft compact,” and said the campus would pro...
chronicle.com
University of Arizona president has declined Trump's compact — and sent back an alternative "statement of principles" outlining the u's current policies on international enrollment, academic freedom, admissions etc.
Compact Live Updates: U. of Arizona Says It Won’t Sign On, Becoming Seventh Campus to Decline
The flagship instead submitted a “statement of principles” to the government. Meanwhile, professors at the University of Texas at Austin urged their campus not to go along with the effort.
chronicle.com
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.
Trump Welcomes ‘Any Institution’ to Sign Onto Compact Outlining His Priorities
An administration source told The Chronicle that “any institution that wants to adopt these principles” could sign onto the document, which offers a purported edge in grant funding.
chronicle.com
Interesting tidbits in my ace colleague @mzahneis.bsky.social's latest piece on Bill Johnson, Youngstown State University's leader and a Trump-supporting ex-congressman: He said he quickly got up to speed on higher ed by attending the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents.
If you, like me, having struggled to keep straight how different universities are responding to Trump's proposed "compact," we've got you covered. The roundup demonstrates 1) varied leadership philosophies 2) a broad spectrum re: faculty engagement (or, perhaps, willingness to speak publicly).
The White House Sent Its Compact to 9 Universities. Here’s What Their Administrators and Faculty Are Saying.
Presidents have been guarded in their remarks on the Trump administration’s offer. But professors have expressed grave concerns.
chronicle.com
Great piece. "...a central and long-running rupture over the foundational mission of civics schools... Should they reform how universities teach by prioritizing civil discourse, or should they add viewpoint diversity by hiring more conservatives?"
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Lesson in Civics
The School of Civic Life and Leadership’s public fighting is part of a long-running rupture about the mission of civics schools around the country.
theassemblync.com
Come for a catch-up on the latest big higher ed news, stay for the Sean Penn cameo at the end (yes, really)
Trump’s ‘Compact’ Is Freaking People Out
Podcast Episode · College Matters from The Chronicle · 10/08/2025 · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
A college president in a red state says his university is thriving right now. But there are tradeoffs.
Mizzou’s President Has Succeeded by Staying Out of Trouble
The University of Missouri leader turned around its reputation, bolstered state funding and enrollment, and restored the faculty trust. But his tight-lipped management style has its critics.
chronicle.com
www.chronicle.com/article/a-ro... Breaking News: Harvard/AAUP win summary judgment in federal district court
‘A Robust Victory’: Federal Judge Says Harvard Should Have Billions of Research Dollars Restored
The judge, Allison D. Burroughs, ruled that the Trump administration’s explanation for canceling the grants — that Harvard had done too little to respond to antisemitism — rang hollow.
chronicle.com
First on @chronicle.com: George Mason University's president just refused the Trump administration's demand to deliver a "personal apology" for supporting diversity efforts in hiring.
GMU President Refuses to Apologize for Diversity Efforts, Lawyer Calls Ed. Dept. Claims ‘Absurd’
In a 10-page letter, Gregory Washington’s lawyer says the Trump administration conducted an incomplete and haphazard investigation full of “gross mischaracterizations.”
chronicle.com
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...
Gender Data Would Be Off-Limits Under Proposed NIH Policy
A draft rule would bar scientists funded by the agency from collecting data about gender identity, following other steps the administration has taken to restrict research on LGBT topics.
chronicle.com
Everyone wants to see the numbers — how selective colleges choose their classes. How they make sense of those numbers (especially now that the Trump administration is among those parties) could have major implications for higher ed.
Columbia’s Deal With Trump Stokes Fears of Federal Admissions Audits
The university will hand over new details about the prospective students it admits and rejects. Is it laying the groundwork for more-aggressive government intervention?
chronicle.com
At least some funding for federal TRIO programs — which support low-income students — is being awarded as planned this summer, per campus announcements. Hundreds of colleges rely on TRIO grants. (In the long run, though, Trump has proposed eliminating TRIO and dismantling ED, which administers it.)
TRiO Delivers. Will Congress?
UMSV Wins $1.7M SSS/TRiO Grant Renewal—But National Funding Cuts Could Threaten TRiO’s Future
mountsaintvincent.edu
