Mary Baldwin University appoints first chief diversity officer
The Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott has been named Mary Baldwin University’s first chief diversity officer, effective Aug. 1. Cornett-Scott will be responsible for campuswide diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and resources. Her duties will include assessing the need for training initiatives on cultural competency, racial sensitivity, gender equity and other topics. She reports to Pamela Fox, [&h[...]
Northam proposes $111M for undergrad financial aid
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that he wants to designate $111 million in federal aid to financial aid for undergraduate students: $100 million for public higher education institutions through the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia and $11 million for private institutions eligible for SCHEV’s Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant program. The General Assembly [&hellip[...]
George Mason hires chief diversity officer
Sharnnia Artis will be George Mason University’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, beginning Sept. 1. Artis currently serves as the assistant dean for access and inclusion in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. George Mason […]
John Tyler Community College renamed Brightpoint
John Tyler Community College will become Brightpoint Community College after receiving unanimous approval from the Virginia Community College System state board in its Thursday meeting. On July 8, John Tyler Community College President Edward “Ted” Raspiller announced that he had recommended Brightpoint Community College as the school’s new name to the state board. The Chester […]
Reston-based Ellucian to be acquired by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners
Investment firms Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners have reached an agreement to acquire Reston-based higher education software company Ellucian, according to an announcement from the companies released Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. New York-based Blackstone and Texas-based Vista Equity are acquiring Ellucian from Texas-based TPG Capital and Los Angeles-based Leonard Gr[...]
Commonwealth Cyber Initiative funds $1M for student cybersecurity projects
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative has allocated $1 million toward experiential cybersecurity projects for students at universities across the state, the organization announced Thursday. The seven projects involve student researchers from George Mason University, Longwood University, Marymount University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wil[...]
Rosetta Stone acquired by California-based learning platform
Arlington-based software company Rosetta Stone Inc. has been acquired by IXL Learning, the California-based educational learning company announced on Wednesday. Founded in 1992, Rosetta Stone’s products are used by more than 1 million people in 150 countries to learn 30 languages. IXL is an integrated learning platform that supports more than 12 million students in […]
CDW Corp. purchases Norfolk-based Amplified IT
Norfolk-based education consulting firm Amplified IT has been purchased by CDW Corp., an Illinois-based Fortune 500 technological services provider, CDW announced Tuesday. Founded in 2008, Amplified IT focuses on the K-12 and higher education markets and is Google’s leading K-12 services partner. CDW offers its services to education customers as well as business, government and […]
Toronto acquisition firm buys Richmond software company
Volaris Group, a Toronto-based buyer and operator of vertical market software companies, announced last week it has acquired Richmond-based educational software company SoftChalk LLC. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Using the SoftChalk platform, instructors can develop custom course materials and interactive content, including quizzes and annotated text. “The team at Volar[...]
Stride selects 47 recipients for new scholarship program
Herndon-based online education provider Stride Inc. (formerly K12 Inc.) announced last week it has selected 47 recipients for the first round of its $10 million investment to provide education options for underserved Black students. The funding was disbursed through Stride’s We Stand Together Scholarships program, which was first announced in September 2020. The first cohort […]
Texas education, training content developer will relocate HQ to Richmond
Education and training content developer Vytal Studios will invest $6.8 million to move its corporate headquarters from Austin, Texas, to Richmond, creating 155 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The company will renovate the facility at 1802 Semmes Ave. to include studio space for filming content and office space for development and post-production functions. “With […]
U.Va.’s Virginia Law Review names new editor-in-chief
The University of Virginia School of Law announced Tuesday that second-year student Tiffany Mickel has been named as editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review. She is the first Black person to hold the position in the publication’s 108-year history. As editor-in-chief, she hopes to diversify authorship of law review content and expand the publication’s online […]