Bill Schackner stories, Page 2
Shapiro launches Board of Higher Education to get colleges, universities to ‘row in the same direction’
Minutes into its inaugural meeting Thursday, the panel now tasked with bringing order to Pennsylvania’s loosely regulated system of colleges and universities received a pointed reminder of what’s at stake. “Our costs are going up and our enrollment is going down. We’re not graduating enough students with the credentials we...
Pitt approves $50M center to research arthritis, osteoporosis
University of Pittsburgh trustees on Thursday approved a $50 million center for musculoskeletal research, an ambitious science and treatment effort aided by tens of millions of dollars donated by the Greensburg founder of Hillandale Farms. The board of trustees’ unanimous vote green-lights a renovation on the 16th floor of the...
Hillandale Farms owner commits another $18.5M to Pitt for orthopedic-based biobank
It’s one thing to give $25 million to advance medicine, as Greensburg’s Orland Bethel and his family foundation did last year in helping to establish a new University of Pittsburgh center for musculoskeletal research. But Bethel, 88, founder of Hillandale Farms, didn’t stop at that. He and his family soon...
Penn State removes student newspapers, sparking free speech debate
Penn State University removed dozens of newsstands from campus buildings that contained its student newspaper because nine of them displayed political ads above the newspaper rack itself: three for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and six promoting voter registration. Penn State administrators say the posters violated rules about advertising and...
Penn State to pay $700K in gender discrimination case
Penn State University will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest to settle a U.S. Department of Labor case alleging gender pay discrimination against female staff and faculty, the parties announced. The amount will be shared among the women impacted. Penn State said the inequities found by the department were...
Trump to rally at IUP venue with separate rules from campus political event ban
Former President Donald Trump is planning a campaign rally at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a state-owned campus that expressly prohibits “activities for the purpose of advancing a single political candidate or party” in any university-controlled facility. That prohibition, though, apparently does not apply to the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex,...
Penn State taps consultant to assess academic programs
Penn State University has hired a consultant to help determine “if it is teaching the right courses in the right places,” given shifting enrollments and employer demand. Hanover Research, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is expected to begin work in early October on the university’s Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR)...
Gannon University looks to merge with Ohio college
Gannon University in Erie and Ursuline College near Cleveland intend to merge, creating what leaders say would be the largest Catholic university system in the Lake Erie region. Presidents of both institutions outlined the move to their campuses Monday. The plan is subject to review by both institutions. If approved,...
Shapiro names members of State Board of Higher Education
Gov. Josh Shapiro named Friday the inaugural members of a new State Board of Higher Education, a key part of his college reforms intended to curb price hikes through better planning and avoiding unnecessary competition. The body includes members from each sector of postsecondary education, plus government, business, labor and...
Coming this fall: Penn State plans to regionalize or share more operations across its branch campuses
Penn State University intends to regionalize or share additional operations across its branch campuses this fall, including services such as advising and student affairs. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and top aides outlined the move Thursday during an update on efforts to ease financial pressures — some caused by sharp...
WCCC, Penn State expand transfer options for students
Westmoreland County Community College students pursuing two-year degrees in 11 high-demand fields could have an easier path to a bachelor’s degree under an agreement inked with Penn State University. Specifically, the pact outlined this week by Penn State and WCCC covers 14 of the university’s 19 Commonwealth campuses statewide, a...
Pitt officials ask health department to investigate food poisoning claims
Social media posts suggesting that students became sick after eating undercooked food in a University of Pittsburgh eatery prompted campus officials to ask the Allegheny County Health Department to investigate the claims. The reports involved The Eatery, a food service outlet in Litchfield Towers and the largest of two dozen...
Outgoing State System chancellor tapped by firm for national role
State System of Higher Education Chancellor Daniel Greenstein will join the consulting firm Baker Tilly and its higher education advisory practice. Greenstein, 64, will lead initiatives that deal with fast-evolving needs of higher education institutions, “prioritizing improved student outcomes and long-term institutional sustainability by optimizing operations, aligning academic portfolios with...
Veteran editor Martin Baron reflects on Trump’s effect on the media and the future of journalism ahead of Pittsburgh event
Martin “Marty” Baron knew by the time he reached high school that he wanted to work in newspapers. But while an undergraduate at Lehigh University, he also developed doubts. It’s partly why he graduated from Lehigh in 1976 with not only a journalism degree but also an MBA. “I said,...
Penn State seeks to add 800 students at its main University Park campus as branch campus enrollment sags
Penn State trustees plan a nearly $225 million addition to the university’s five-year capital plan to fund endeavors that include a new classroom building to support a planned 800-student expansion at University Park. The move from 9,200 to 10,000 incoming students is envisioned to take place over several years. Student...
Attack on Jewish students not a hate crime, officials say
Law enforcement has concluded that the attack on two Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh was not a hate crime, nor was the assailant targeting a specific group, Pitt officials said. A statement from Pitt on Tuesday offered no motive for why the suspect, Jarrett Buba, 52, of Pittsburgh’s...
Jewish students at Pitt attacked; suspect arrested
A man wielding a bottle attacked a group of Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh late Friday near the Cathedral of Learning, officials said. Two students were injured and the suspect was quickly arrested. “The alleged perpetrator, who has no known Pitt affiliation, was immediately arrested by Pitt Police...
State System of Higher Education recommends interim chancellor
The chair of the State System of Higher Education Board of Governors intends to recommend Christopher Fiorentino, retired president of West Chester University, as interim system chancellor while a search for Daniel Greenstein’s successor is conducted. Cynthia Shapira notified students, faculty and staff at the 10 state-owned universities in a...
IUP advances toward medical school opening, calls FAFSA mess ‘a debacle’
What would be this state’s first college of osteopathic medicine on a public university campus is advancing toward a possible fall 2027 opening, Indiana University of Pennsylvania President Michael Driscoll says. But as the 2024-25 academic year begins, a more immediate concern exists over IUP’s likely fall enrollment — uncertainty...
Carnegie Mellon restricts protests, demonstrations in updated policy
Protests, rallies and other expressive events at Carnegie Mellon University with 25 or more participants must be registered in advance or officials may prevent or disband the gathering and weigh sanctions against its organizers. The language comes from an updated policy on such demonstrations that senior leaders notified campus of...
Outgoing Pa. state system chancellor Greenstein reflects on achievements and challenges
Months after becoming chancellor of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities, Daniel Greenstein shared an ambitious goal for a system already underfunded and headed toward controversial campus mergers and spending cuts. “In a transformed system — a sharing system — every student on every campus has access to the full breadth of academic...
Oakland bustling as Pitt, Carnegie Mellon students move in
Brand-new pillows still in their packaging, bulky room fans and other poundage piled into overburdened moving carts explained the frazzled looks on some entering dorms at the University of Pittsburgh on Monday. Then there was Devin Knause, 17, a first-year student from Tenafly, N.J., who arrived outside Litchfield Tower A...
‘History in the making’: PennWest professor sends students to political conventions
Sydney Speicher, a rising senior at Pennsylvania Western University, rode an overnight Amtrak train to Chicago so she could spend this week living a political science major’s dream. There’s no guarantee Speicher, 22, of Midway will witness a major candidate’s speech up close, just because she’s earning academic credit by...
Student loan repayments on pause for some as court fight continues over federal debt relief program
Millions of student borrowers facing college loan payments are getting temporary relief following court decisions this summer blocking implementation of the federal debt relief program known as SAVE. Their payments and any interest are effectively paused — at least while a court fight plays out between Republican-led states suing to...
Will Israeli-Palestinian conflict protests, encampments resurface when college resumes?
Alon Leshem, a rising senior at the University of Pittsburgh, is energized to finish his computer science degree and to take secondary field of study courses involving Israel and Palestine. But, like other Jewish students at Pitt and elsewhere, his enthusiasm is tempered by knowing fall could bring renewed pro-Palestinian...
