Free Republic

Following up on his comments about "trendy ideology" and partisan interest groups in higher education, Governor Ron DeSantis has named six people with ties to conservative institutions to the Board of Trustees at New College in Sarasota. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the State Senate. The most prominent of the six nominees is Christopher Rufo, a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Manhattan Institute. Rufo has recently led the fight, according to a release from the governor, against critical race theory in American institutions, resulting in legislation in fifteen states. Rufo said in a tweer, "my ambition is...

We have long held that trustees don’t do nearly enough to act as a reality check on the universities they are entrusted with. Of course, when one comes along, the universities don’t like it one bit. “The University of Texas system has spent the past two years airing plenty of dirty laundry, and that is thanks in large part to Wallace L. Hall Jr.,” Jack Stripling reports in The Chronicle of Higher Education. “Mr. Hall, who was appointed to the Texas Board of Regents in 2011, has made it his mission to look into the dark corners of the university,...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State trustee Paul Suhey admits relieving Joe Paterno of his head coaching duties in November 2011 over a late-night phone call was not the right tact. Stephanie Deviney, another trustee, is certain the whole board feels that way. “We apologize, we screwed it up as far as how we delivered the message,” Suhey said Friday in an interview. “Our decision, we’re not going to go back on. But we messed that up big time. “People are still so hurt by that, and you know, damn it, we screwed it up.” The Paterno decision will go down...

Conference calls involving a quorum without public notice aren’t allowed. At least one conference call was conducted on Saturday, Nov. 5. A meeting by telephone is just as illegal as a meeting with all persons at a table if it isn’t publically announced. Several emergency meetings were held the next few days. The Sunshine Act allows emergency meetings. The Trustees conducted meetings Sunday, Nov. 6, Monday, Nov. 7, and Wednesday, Nov. 9. By law, an emergency meeting can be called, without public notice, only for “the purpose of dealing with a real or potential emergency involving a clear and present...

...The Easton Express-Times is reporting the Penn State president Graham Spanier will by out -- either by resignation or firing -- by the end of the day.Easton Express-TimesPenn State University President Graham Spanier will either resign or be voted out by the end of today, a source close to the board of trustees told The Express-Times. An interim president, most likely Executive Vice President and Provost Rodney A. Erickson, will be appointed and a nationwide search for a permanent replacement will begin... Spanier was made aware in 2002 that a graduate assistant coach had seen former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky...

Further confirmation came today that the GOP must play offense on Medicare, rather than getting trapped into defending the Ryan budget. The status quo is not an option. In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee today, two Medicare Trustess, Drs. Charles Blahous and Robert Reischauer, confirmed that based on our current path in 2024 there would be "actual" cuts to Medicare at 17%. They also confirmed that Medicare would end itself by 2024 unless actions are taken to save the program.

Exploring the respected notion of higher “general education” in America, the American Counsel of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) set WhatWillTheyLearn.com in motion, a project aimed at evaluating major public and private colleges and universities on seven key areas of knowledge; English composition, foreign language, literature, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics, and the sciences. ACTA, an independent and non-profit organization, upholds to the standards of “academic freedom, excellence, and accountability” of America’s schools while releasing accurate rankings. Such a task is especially important during this time of rising tuition costs and economic uncertainty. This online, college ranking guide is currently...

Wealth, prestige gone, a lawyer faces prison term He pleaded guilty to fraud while bilking the trust he was overseeing of $52 million Mark Avery, San Francisco-born son of one of the nation's pre-eminent trust attorneys, was one of 14 lawyers fired in 1996 by a then-incoming San Francisco district attorney intent on making room for his own people. Avery, now 48, rebuilt his life in Alaska, first working as a prosecutor in Anchorage and then prospering as he took over his late father's role as a trust attorney. But the wealth and prestige he built along the way were...

Ho-hum about the clash of civilizations? Blasé about the struggle for Congress? Then turn your attention to Hanover, N.H., home of Dartmouth College, where the fighting is really intense. The story begins with T.J. Rodgers, the entrepreneur who founded and runs Cypress Semiconductor. In 2004 Mr. Rodgers, class of '70, decided his alma mater could use him on its board of trustees (half of whose members are elected by alumni). He circulated a letter in which he insisted on a reassertion of high academic standards, the importance of freedom of speech on campus, and the need for Dartmouth to strive...

Conservatives in control of an Ivy League school? This dream might become a reality as conservative alumni fight for their rights to be candidates for the Board of Trustees at Dartmouth. This battle began two years ago when two candidates who were endorsed by the Alumni Association were defeated by two “outsider” candidates. Another independent candidate also won a position on the board. Since that time, the University has tried to rewrite the Board’s constitution and bylaws to prevent such a thing from occurring ever again. The conservative blogs and media caught wind of this and since then the Battle...

A panel on academic freedom at a symposium sponsored by the group founded by conservative author and activist David Horowitz featured a classic face-off between the educational establishment and education reformers. “Let’s not create policy on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations,” responded William Scheuerman, president of the United University Professions, the nation’s largest higher-education union, to allegations of political indoctrination. “I would like to see more rigorous sets of data.” Scheuerman was one of several speakers, brought together by the Students for Academic Freedom for their first national convention, held at the Washington Court Hotel in the nation’s capitol. SAF...

After months of accusations, investigations, reports, legal bills and news conferences, the scandal surrounding San Diego's debt-ridden retirement system moves to a courtroom today for the beginning of what may be a revealing hearing. For the first time, prosecutors with the District Attorney's Office will begin to publicly lay out their case against six former board members of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System. The six are charged with violating state conflict-of-interest laws when they voted in 2002 for a deal that let the city pay less into the retirement system than was required. At the same time, the...

THE PETITION CANDIDATES DID IT. In a stunning--at least to their critics--upset, Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki each won an alumni seat on Dartmouth College's board of trustees. The results were made public yesterday afternoon, following two months of electronic and mail-in voting. Chalk up another victory for the "New Media"--namely, for the conservative blogosphere. Robinson and Zywicki relied heavily on the Internet to publicize their efforts. They had been the insurgents in the race: the grassroots nominees who worked their way onto the ballot by garnering 500 signatures apiece. They entered a field with four other candidates handpicked by...

Setting the Record: New Trustee Defends His Ideas and His Name By T. J. Rodgers, Guest Columnist Another assistant professor of history, Vernon Takeshita, has written a letter questioning my honesty and integrity regarding race issues. I hope it's the last letter like that. As explained below, this certainly will be the last reply from me on this topic. The terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center have scored one victory beyond the physical -- they have reduced our freedom by causing us to have to deal with measures such as "red alerts" and a government takeover of airport security....

<p>What should school officials do when a teenager wants medical attention but doesn't want his or her parents to know? That essentially is the question trustees of the Roseville Joint Union High School District are scheduled to answer Tuesday night. They will weigh their lawyers' advice -- which is to follow the attorneys' interpretation of state law and allow teenage students medical privacy -- against what trustee Dean Forman calls "natural law," the notion that parents have ultimate authority over their children.</p>

Trustees of Schenectady County Community College today will discuss whether or not to go ahead and allow Scott Ritter to speak Feb. 12 at the college, according to college President Gabriel Basil."It's one item on a long agenda. The board will consider whether Ritter's appearance is something that will have a detrimental effect on the college. At this time, we don't see it has having the effect," Basil said.