A showdown over who rules America’s college campuses came to a head in Kansas on Wednesday, in a clash that might be called Cancel Culture vs. the Big Donors. It began last week, when a technical college affiliated with Wichita State University scrapped plans for a virtual commencement address by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, in a bow to student and faculty criticism of the President’s response to the nationwide protests over George Floyd’s killing. On Twitter, Ivanka blamed “cancel culture,” calling it “antithetical to academia.” In a compromise brokered by the university, Ivanka’s remarks, instead of headlining the event, were demoted to being one in a menu of choices during the ceremony, on June 6th. If they wished, students could click on a link and see her dressed for the occasion, in a regal white sheath and turquoise earrings and brooch, as she addressed them as “wartime” graduates.
The approach of Wichita State University’s president, Jay Golden, won praise from students and faculty members who had circulated petitions opposing the address. But the decision roiled the school’s conservative corporate donors, including, reportedly, the billionaire libertarian oil magnate Charles Koch, the owner of Koch Industries, the largest company in Wichita and one of the two largest private companies in the country. According to the Wichita Eagle, Koch Industries threatened to withdraw its financial support for the university; its basketball arena bears Koch’s name. The newspaper’s story cited a letter, sent to the Kansas Board of Regents, by another corporate booster of the school, Steve Clark, which called for Golden to be fired and warned that Koch Industries and other major corporate donors—including Dan Carney, the founder of Pizza Hut—were “very upset and quite vocal in their decisions to disavow any further support.” Continue reading “Ivanka Trump and Charles Koch Fuel a Cancel-Culture Clash at Wichita State”
Tag: higher education
Minnesota House Approves New Higher Education Measures to Help Minnesotans Through and Beyond COVID-19
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved new higher education measures to help Minnesotans adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides economic security for students, expands eligibility for more child care assistance, delivers greater support to our native tribal community colleges, and adds more protections from financial harm when colleges suddenly close, especially private for-profit schools, like Argosy.
“Our compromise House and Senate bill addresses additional students’ needs and protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said House Higher Education Committee Chair Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton). “We must do all we can to help degree-seeking Minnesotans. I’ll continue to advocate for students and their families, putting them above profits.”
The bill prohibits a postsecondary institution that is receiving state financial aid from withdrawing a student from class or suspending a student due to an unpaid student account balance. These efforts will help ensure students aren’t penalized if they are forced to withdraw from a class due to the challenges and circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill expands the Office of Higher Education’s Child Care Grant Program to also include postsecondary institutions offering only graduate or professional degrees. This financial resource helps low income students who have young children pay for child care while they attend classes.
Additionally, the new legislation requires new standards for OHE to provide for maximum involvement of and consultation with the Tribal Nations Education Committee in establishing programs and formulating polices related to American Indian students’ post secondary involvement.
A core provision of the higher education bill aims to add more protections to students from financial harms due to abrupt college closures. Despite significant efforts of the House DFL to put an end to predatory and fraudulent practices of private, for-profit colleges, the final bill includes a measure that permits Office of Higher Education to revoke or suspend registration for a degree-granting postsecondary institution if the institution was administratively or judicially determined to have committed fraud or a material violation of law involving state, local, or federal funds. This section had stronger enforcement measures in the House of Representatives, such as revoking registration or approval of an institute of higher education if they fail to prove enrollment at the school, use fraudulent or dishonest practices, and other requirements that were tied to financial viability provisions. The Senate Republicans refused to incorporate these measures into the final bill.
A copy of the bill can be found here.
Phillips Introduces Bill To Prohibit Federal Education Funds From Being Spent On Lobbying Congress
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep Dean Phillips (MN-03) announced the introduction of his bill, the Higher Education Funds Integrity Act, to prevent federal education funds from being used by universities to lobby Congress.
Currently, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 prohibits the use of federal funds received under the Higher Education Act of 1965 from being used by any higher education institution to fund lobbying activities in Congress. Phillips’s bill extends that prohibition to future federal education funding under the upcoming College Affordability Act.
“I’m on a mission to restore trust in our government and to build a system that works for the people,”said Phillips. “When it comes to education, that means ensuring universities are using taxpayer dollars to fund higher education for Americans, not lobbyists on Capitol Hill.”
The House Education and Labor Committee passed the College Affordability Act favorably out of committee on October 31st, 2019. The legislation seeks to halt rising tuition costs, increase the value of Pell Grants, and make student loans easier to pay off. Phillips’s bill underscores the importance of using those dollars for the purposes of education.
Phillips has championed government reform during his first term in Congress. His amendment to close lobbying loopholes passed the House as part of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, in March. Phillips is the only member of Congress who refuses campaign contributions from all special interest PACs, federal lobbyists and other members of Congress.
Minnesota House Expected to Approve New Budget for Higher Education
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA. — Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives is expected to approve a new higher education budget. The legislation was agreed to in a House/Senate conference committee earlier today.
“Minnesotans from all backgrounds deserve a fair shot at earning a quality post-secondary education,” said Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL – New Brighton), Chair of the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Division. “Working together, we have forged a bipartisan compromise that eases the financial burden on working families and students, expands eligibility for grants, and improves student health and safety.”
The higher education budget supports working families, reduces debt, expands opportunities for low income and nontraditional students, and improves health and safety on campus. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are 775,000 Minnesotans with student debt totaling $27.1 billion. Continue reading “Minnesota House Expected to Approve New Budget for Higher Education”