Winter frolic at Liberty snowballs into controversy
It’s no Falwell-sized scandal, but interim Liberty University President Jerry Prevo issued an apology Tuesday for a snowball fight that got out of hand on Sunday morning. “This past Sunday morning as I opened the curtains and looked outside, I saw a Liberty University campus covered in deep snow. Having lived in Alaska for the […]
Ellucian names chief people officer
Reston-based higher education software company Ellucian announced Wednesday it has named Greg Giangrande as its chief people officer. Giangrande most recently served as a senior adviser at McKinsey & Co., where he worked with clients on enterprise transformation, employee experience, human resources, organizational health and culture, leadership development, diversity and inclusion and commu[...]
Liberty University sues state over tuition assistance cut for online students
Liberty University, the large, private nonprofit Christian school in Lynchburg, has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Ralph Northam and the director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), alleging that amendments to the 2020 state budget “wrongly exclude Virginia students who access higher education through online content” from receiving the Virginia Tuition […]
5 ways Va. can put people back to work and transform higher education
It’s tempting these days to believe that once COVID-19 is contained, the U.S. economy will bounce back quickly, replenishing jobs and incomes lost in the pandemic. Yet there are early warning signs that when the labor market fully reopens, some high-demand jobs may be hard to fill even with millions of Americans looking for work. […]
Three Va. universities join Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute
Virginia Tech announced Thursday it has been named a managing member of the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII), an $111 million public-private partnership led by the University of Texas at San Antonio. George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University will also participate in the institute. CyManII will enter into a five-year agreement with the U.S. […]
Northam proposes $240M for pandemic response
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise and frontline medical workers receive the first vaccine doses, Gov. Ralph Northam called on the General Assembly to allocate $240 million toward pandemic response in his proposed budget amendments released Wednesday. “The budget I present today preserves our focus on flexibility, targeted investments and help for Virginians. While we […]
U.Va. Darden’s Beardsley recognized as ‘Dean of the Year’ by Poets & Quants
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced Monday that Dean Scott Beardsley was named “Dean of the Year” by Poets & Quants, an online publication and forum dedicated to business schools. Poets & Quants recognized Beardsley’s flexible approach to the application process during the pandemic, as well as the school’s teaching excellence and […]
Three Hampton Roads community colleges announce job training collaboration
The new Community College Workforce Cooperative (CCWC), a collaboration among three Hampton Roads community colleges, will create a single point of contact for accessing workforce training resources, Virginia Community Colleges (VCCS) Chancellor Glenn DuBois announced Monday. Paul D. Camp, Thomas Nelson and Tidewater community colleges will work together to meet large-scale job training needs fo[...]
Hampton University president announces retirement
After 42 years at the helm, Hampton University President William R. Harvey announced Monday he will retire at the end of June 2022. Harvey is one of the nation’s longest-serving university presidents and will retire with 44 years at the 152-year-old historically Black private university. He is the eighth longest-serving university president currently serving a term. […]
Jerry Falwell Jr. drops defamation lawsuit against Liberty University
Jerry Falwell Jr. has dropped his defamation lawsuit against Liberty University, saying in a statement Thursday that he has decided “to take a timeout” from the suit while keeping his options open. Falwell sued his former employer Oct. 28 in Lynchburg Circuit Court, claiming that the university made defamatory statements about him in the wake […]
ODU names vice president for student engagement and enrollment
Following a national search, Old Dominion University has named Don Stansberry as its vice president for student engagement and enrollment services. Stansberry has held the position on an interim basis since July 2019; his permanent post will begin on Jan. 10. After national trends predicted a steep decline in college enrollment because of the pandemic, […]
Hampton University exec named chair-elect of Public Relations Society of America
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced Monday it has elected Hampton University‘s vice president for development and campaign director, Felicia Blow, as chair of its board for 2022. She will serve as chair-elect during 2021. The PRSA is a professional organization with more than 21,000 members who work in the public relations and […]