Let’s really welcome our freshmen this fall

The Class of 2020 will not enjoy the final few rites of passage linked to the senior year of high school. No prom. No special senior day. No graduation. Thanks, coronavirus. Whether the stereotype of the moody teenager is garbage or linked to reality, let's admit that if he or she is supposed to graduate …

The toll from a pandemic

Perhaps the word is sad. Or down. Or angry. Or afraid. Or anxious. Or lonely. Or despondent. Or resigned. Or frustrated. Whatever word best describes how you feel today as we plow through another day of the coronavirus pandemic is the right one. It doesn't have to match what your best friend, your parent, your …

Next year’s Tokyo Olympics already in doubt

The Guardian reports the Tokyo Olympics might not be held next year. “Unless an effective vaccine is developed I think it will be difficult to hold the Olympics next year,” JMA president Yoshitake Yokokura told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. “I’m not saying at this point that they shouldn’t be held. The outbreak is not …

What about the staff?

There’s been plenty of discussion across the country surrounding how America’s colleges and universities will reopen in the fall. Each day brings about announcements from schools (though note how many institutions couch their intentions with words such as "planning to," "exploring" and "leaning toward") regarding how instruction will be delivered. Optimism is good, and of …

Brown president: Make students partners in getting our colleges reopened

Christina Paxson is the president of Brown University. In today's New York Times, she offers a sober, serious but cautiously optimistic evaluation of how U.S. colleges and universities can reopen in the fall. Her argument recognizes that college students can't fully thrive in an online-only learning environment. As amazing as videoconferencing technology has become, students …

New York Times captures first day of Ramadan

Islam’s holy month, Ramadan, began this year while the world continues to battle a pandemic. Photos in the New York Times of the first day of Ramadan from around the world are stunning. For the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is a social and spiritual high point, a time to gather …

Major cuts, including to athletics, coming to the University of Akron and other institutions

The photo above was taken outside my sister-in-law's house after a powerful storm ripped through her street a few years ago. The photo applies to what's happening at America's colleges and universities today: coronavirus has the potential to destroy the landscape of higher education. One university president has pulled the alarm warning on his campus, …

The presidents of Johns Hopkins and Purdue send strikingly different messages; only one of the men passes the leadership test

I begin this blog post admitting a bias: I believe a person's true character comes through during times of crisis. You must decide the degree to which those sentiments influence what you're about to read. The presidents of Johns Hopkins University and Purdue University have shared how the next few months, and the fall semester, …

Southern New Hampshire University makes bold promise to its incoming freshmen

Southern New Hampshire University has informed its incoming freshmen that the school will provide   An Innovation Scholarship that covers 100% of your first-year tuition (effectively making your start at SNHU tuition-free) The ability to apply federal financial aid and non-SNHU scholarships to your room and board costs if you choose to live on campus …