Posts Categorized: Newslink

Tackling School Segregation 65 Years After Brown v. Board of Education

DC Shuttle ... House Committee Passes Two Education Equity Bills. The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held a markup and approved two bills designed to tackle racial segregation in America's schools. Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA) argued that these bills would help integrated schools lead to equitable funding and opportunities. The markup was scheduled one day before the 65th anniversary of t...

Smith to Retire as Head of National Admissions Group

Comings and Goings ... The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) announced that CEO Joyce E. Smith will retire in summer 2020, after 30 years of service to the association and 44 years in the college admission profession. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) announced that Tim Storey will become the Denver-based national group’s new executive dir...

New England’s Largest School District Chooses New Super from Minnesota

Comings and Goings ... The Boston School Committee chose former Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius to be the next superintendent of Boston Public Schools, New England's largest school district. She succeeds Tommy Chang who resigned last June and Interim Superintendent Laura Perille, who was criticized for having no experience working in public schools. Bryant University P...

House Dems Would Bump Up Funds for Pell Grants, Federal Work-Study, Teacher Development

DC Shuttle ... House Subcommittee Approves Education Spending Bill. House Democrats released the text of their education spending bill for fiscal 2020, and it was approved at markup by the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee a day later. The full Appropriations Committee will consider the bill at a markup this Wednesday. The legislation would provide $189.8 billion for the...

Remembering Bob Miller

The NEBHE community was saddened by the passing last week of Bob Miller, who served as a delegate from 1972 to 1994 and 2005 to 2019 and chaired the board from 1981 to 1983. He was the founding president of Quinebaug Valley Community College and served as an interim president at Connecticut community colleges on five different occasions. NEBHE President Michael K. Thomas hailed Bob in a memo t...

Hi-Yo Silver …

Comings and Goings ... Bennington College President Mariko Silver announced she will step down in July after leading Bennington since 2013 to become president and CEO of the Henry Luce Foundation. Provost and Dean of the College Isabel Roche will serve as interim president while a committee conducts a national search for Silver’s replacement. University of Maine System Chancellor James H...

A Boost for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

DC Shuttle ... Legislation Introduced to Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness. A group of Senate Democrats, led by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), introduced legislation to expand public service loan forgiveness. The program has seen high denial rates over the past years, causing lawmakers to suggest changes. The legislation, the What You Can Do for Your Country Act...

Hampshire Prez Resigns; Sannicandro Named to Lead Mass. Assn. of Community Colleges; Bay Path’s Leary to Step Down After 25 Years

Comings and Goings ... Hampshire College President Miriam Nelson announced her resignation amid turmoil at the small liberal arts college, which in January announced it was in financial jeopardy and in search of a merger. The college trustees voted not to accept a full class of students for the fall semester and two Hampshire trustees have resigned in recent weeks. Former Massachusetts s...

Pell Grant Experiment Has Offered “Second Chance” to 8,800 Incarcerated Students

DC Shuttle ... Ed Dept Meeting on Pell Grants for Prisoners. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos gave opening remarks at an Education Department roundtable where officials got an update on an ongoing experiment offering Pell Grants to prisoners. The roundtable addressed a GAO report detailing the experimental program, which was started under the Obama administration and has been extended by th...

Congressional Panels Grill DeVos on Ed Cuts, Threats to Special Olympics

DC Shuttle ... Senate Holds Hearing on Education Budget. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos appeared before a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee to testify on the president's budget proposal for education. Senate Democrats used the hearing to criticize DeVos over a proposal to eliminate $18 million in funding for the Special Olympics. Just a few hours later, the administration r...