Posts Categorized: Newslink Topic

Mills to Leave UMass Boston Interim Chancellorship After Less Than Year

Mills Comings and Goings ... Barry Mills, the former Bowdoin College president who became interim chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston in July after the resignation of Chancellor J. Keith Motley, will step down from the UMass Boston post in June 2018. Regis College appointed former professor and later chief diversity officer at Vermont's School for International Training Mi...

Women Will Lead All Five Vermont State Colleges; Grant Back to New England

Scolforo Comings and Goings ... The Vermont State College System appointed Central Penn College President Karen Scolforo to be the next leader of Castleton University, succeeding Dave Wolk, who is retiring from the post after 16 years. Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding noted that with Scolforo's appointment, all five institutions in the Vermont State College System will all be head...

NEBHE Presents NE Higher Education Excellence Award to Lawmaker-Tick Expert Dill

As a Tick superhero gathers comic book and video followers, Maine state Sen. Jim Dill, a UMaine Cooperative Extension professor, has emerged as a key expert in the real-life challenge of understanding the often-disease-carrying insects. NEBHE presented its 2017 regional Higher Education Excellence Award to Dill, during the organization's board meeting at the Sable Oaks Marriott in South Portland,...

NEBHE Releases Statement Calling on Congress to Legislate Permanent Protection for DACA Participants

NEBHE on Sept. 15 issued the following statement ... The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) urges Congress to follow the president's direction to legislate permanent protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA allowed "Dreamers" to "come out of the shadows," enroll in postsecondary opportunities and legally secure jobs. "Dreamers" are required to follo...

Vermont Legislative Session 2017: It Was Supposed To Be Smooth Sailing …

From January to April, there appeared to be an unusual degree of cooperation among legislators and newly elected Gov. Phil Scott. The House and Senate passed a budget with minor differences. Up until this point, some legislators were characterizing the session as “boring.” All that changed on April 20, when Scott proposed that the Legislature adopt the Vermont School Boards Association’s pla...

Rhode Island Legislative Session 2017: Free College Tuition Becomes Law … at Least for Community College

The Rhode Island General Assembly abruptly ended its 2017 legislation session on Friday evening, July 1, following a protracted disagreement between House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio related to the car tax. Eliminating the car tax was a high priority of Mattiello’s. But some lawmakers expressed concern that with revenues lagging by approximately $100 mil...

New Hampshire Legislative Session 2017: Keno-garten

New Hampshire lawmakers ended hard-fought budget deliberations on June 22 and passed a two-year $17.7 billion budget along party lines. During House budget deliberations, Republicans faced opposition in their own party coming from the newly formed Freedom Caucus. The result was the Republican-dominated House failed to produce a budget, which hadn’t happened in several decades. The Republican...

Maine Legislative Session 2017: Legislature Overturns the Will of the Voters

The first regular session of Maine’s 128th state Legislature was exceptionally challenging, as lawmakers engaged in a bitter fight over the budget while wrestling with four ballot questions approved by voters in the November 2016 election. Lawmakers were divided on Question 2, which was approved by voters and would have imposed a 3% tax on those making $200,000 or more. Funds would be used t...

Massachusetts Legislative Session 2017: Budget Signed But Hot-Button Issues Face Legislators in September

Two weeks into FY 2018, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a $39.4 billion spending package that increases spending by 1.7% over the prior year. He vetoed $320 million from the budget, including $222 million in spending for MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. Baker has proposed reforms to MassHealth including a “gate” which blocks eligibility for full-time workers who have access to...

Connecticut Legislative Session 2017: Session Ends Without A Budget

On June 7, 2017, Connecticut legislators wrapped up their session without passing a two-year budget. The failure to pass a budget or a provisional budget reflects a deeply divided Legislature with an 18-18 split in the Senate and a slight Democratic majority, 79-72, in the House. As lawmakers adjourned, Gov. Dannel Malloy chastised them for failing to break the deadlock and pass a budget. A big s...