MARTY MEEHAN’S FAILURES as president of the University of Massachusetts system have been big news lately. A controversial land grab to benefit Amherst at the expense of other campuses and a no-confidence vote by UMass Boston faculty were just the start. Now, he’s facing another controversy at UMass Lowell, where he was chancellor before taking over the entire system. […]
Higher education
Posted inOpinion
A letter to Larry Bacow
DEAR LARRY, As you begin your tenure as president of Harvard University next week, I wish you the very best. We appreciated all you did when you were the president of Tufts University; you really helped to make Tufts a better place. Having read your May interview with outgoing President Drew Faust in the Harvard Gazette, I appreciate that […]
Posted inEducation
Meehan, UMass Boston faculty at war
This story was updated with information indicating the UMass Boston Faculty Council did not make disparaging comments about the three candidates for UMass Boston chancellor. THE FACULTY AT UMASS BOSTON, angered and threatened by the purchase of Mount Ida College in Newton by UMass Amherst, retaliated by scuttling the search for a new chancellor at […]
Posted inEducation
The Codcast: “Time to degree’ is key
No one doubts the value of a college education. It is increasingly a requirement for entry into the middle class. But the road to a degree is filled with lots of potholes and obstacles. One top of it all is the ever-rising price of higher education, which is saddling many students with thousands of dollars […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: “Time to degree’ is key
No one doubts the value of a college education. It is increasingly a requirement for entry into the middle class. But the road to a degree is filled with lots of potholes and obstacles. On top of it all is the ever-rising price of higher education, which is saddling many students with thousands of dollars […]
Posted inEducation
Inspirational talks are not cheap
EX-NBA SUPERSTAR KAREEM Abdul-Jabbar gave a speech at Bunker Hill Community College last October — not on how to shoot his patented skyhook, but on the weighty subject of “Islam: Misrepresented, Misunderstood, and Maligned in the United States.” The speech was part of a series that is designed to serve as inspiration for Bunker Hill […]
Posted inOpinion
Congress (surprise!) leads way on financial aid
THE SPENDING BILL passed by Congress finally recognizes what educators, students, and business leaders have been saying for years: Without a robust and affordable higher education system, we will not be able to succeed in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. This bill should serve as a model for Massachusetts legislators as they prepare their own […]
Posted inOpinion
Failing U: State falls short on for-profit schools
IN 2015, THE COLLAPSE of the behemoth Corinthian Colleges, which had been taking in up to $1.4 billion in federal dollars annually, and the subsequent failure of the giant ITT Tech cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and left thousands of students with enormous student loan debt and no degree or diploma to show […]
Posted inEducation
UMass Boston’s Dr. Evil
“I AM NOW Dr. Evil,” said Barry Mills after it was reported that he planned to shut down the daycare center at the University of Massachusetts Boston as part of an effort to rein in costs at the campus. Brought in as interim chancellor to right the university’s finances, Mills made the comment in an […]
Posted inOpinion
The hard choice in fighting racism
WE HAD A CHOICE at Westfield State University. After two students of color were targeted with hateful messages on their dorm room door, we could have simply sought to support and comfort the affected students and issue a statement about the abhorrent nature of these actions, while calling on our campus community for greater civility. […]