5/18
Penn in the News
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
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Penn In the News
To Resurrect a College, Supporters Need More Than Nostalgia
Mary-Linda Merriam Armacost of the Graduate School of Education comments on the challenges colleges face.
Penn In the News
Who’s Taking MOOCs? Teachers
In free online courses offered by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teachers are increasingly the students. A study by the two universities has found that teachers are enrolling in their MOOCs in high numbers. The study examines data from some one million MOOC students who enrolled in courses at edX, the nonprofit learning platform started by Harvard and MIT.
Penn In the News
Indiana College Presidents Speak Out Against ‘Religious Freedom’ Law
Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act has stoked national controversy and outrage since Gov. Mike Pence signed it into law, on Thursday. Meanwhile, for university leaders in the state, it’s become a public-relations nightmare. The ramifications of the law are unclear.
Penn In the News
Should College Administrators Yak Back?
Shortly after arriving at a big student-affairs conference this week in New Orleans, Rey Junco took a look at the conversation attendees were having on Yik Yak, an anonymous, location-based app. As an associate professor of education and human computer interaction at Iowa State University and a faculty associate at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Mr.
Penn In the News
Why Colleges Don’t Do More to Rein in Frats
It’s getting hard to keep up with the number of shocking incidents attributed to fraternities. As headlines pile up — racist and sexist speech, sexual impropriety, destruction of property, hazing, illegal drugs, and even the death of a student — there is a growing sense that Greek organizations are out of control.
Penn In the News
Video: ‘The Athletic Machine Is in Charge of the University’
Mary C. Willingham, a learning specialist who blew the whistle on academic fraud at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is promoting a book she co-wrote about the scandal. In a recent conversation with The Chronicle, Ms. Willingham talked about how the scandal highlighted what she said are larger problems in the world of big-time college sports, warning that “the athletic machine is in charge of the university." Ms.
Penn In the News
Video: How An Elite Women’s College Lost Its Base and Found Its Mission
Almost 30 years ago, Trinity College, in Washington, D.C., faced a crisis familiar to many small institutions today: It lost the ability to attract the predominantly well-to-do women it had traditionally enrolled. So the Roman Catholic women’s college adopted a risky strategy. It changed its base, focusing instead on serving primarily African-American and Latina women who face financial disadvantages.
Penn In the News
How One Small College Attracted Its Largest Incoming Class Ever
Last month’s announcement that Sweet Briar College will close sounded the alarm at many small liberal-arts colleges nationwide. The challenges faced by the Virginia college are by no means unique. By one estimate, about 250 institutions could face a similar fate.
Penn In the News
Stunned by a Video, U. of Oklahoma Struggles to Talk About Race
The text message arrived on Latrecia Breath’s phone while she was grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon. "Please watch this," her friend urged. Ms. Breath, a sophomore majoring in broadcasting and electronic media at the University of Oklahoma, waited until she was in the parking lot before she clicked on the link. There, in her prune-colored Saturn, she watched the video that was rapidly engulfing the 27,000-student campus. Her university had become a flash point in the national conversation about race.
Penn In the News
Sensing a Moment, Diversity Officers Swap Tips on Improving Campus Climate
Put 300 campus diversity officers in a room, and they’ll have no shortage of topics to discuss. But this week, when the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education held its annual conference here, one issue came up frequently: the racial climate on college campuses. That topic has claimed the national spotlight, most recently after a video surfaced of several University of Oklahoma fraternity members’ singing a racist anthem.