May 23, 2013, 4:55 am

Governor Cuomo Seeks to Turn SUNY Campuses Into Tax-Free Zones

The 64 campuses of the State University of New York system would become tax-free zones under an economic-development plan announced on Wednesday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. According to the governor’s office, the “Tax Free NY” program would seek to lure technology companies and other businesses that could make use of the intellectual capital produced by SUNY’s colleges and universities.

In a statement released by Governor Cuomo’s office, Nancy L. Zimpher, chancellor of SUNY, said, “The governor has said many times that SUNY is the economic engine for New York, and these new tax-free zones will further our campuses’ ability to innovate, create jobs, and attract new companies through public-private partnerships.”

Under the plan, the companies would pay no sales, property, or business taxes for a decade, and employees would pay no income taxes. The venture seeks to replicate the economic…

May 21, 2013, 4:47 pm

Harvard U. Receives $125-Million Gift for Biotech Research

By Lee Gardner

Harvard University announced on Tuesday that Hansjörg Wyss had doubled down on a contribution to his namesake Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at the university with a $125-million gift.

The institute was founded in 2009 with a previous $125-million gift from the Swiss-born medical-equipment mogul, who earned an M.B.A. from the university in 1965. The initial gift was reportedly the largest individual donation that Harvard had yet received. In 2004, Mr. Wyss gave $25-million to Harvard’s business school for its graduate program.

The Wyss Institute specializes in research that applies technological solutions to medical- and biological-research challenges—for example, developing a microchip that mimics human lung tissue for experimental purposes. Mr. Wyss’s new gift will go toward continued support and expansion of the institute.

May 21, 2013, 4:58 am

U. of Virginia Raises $3-Billion

By Lee Gardner

As part of its commencement celebrations this past weekend, the University of Virginia announced that its long-term fund-raising campaign had met its goal of bringing in more than $3-billion.

In making the announcement, the university’s president, Teresa A. Sullivan, called the Campaign for the University of Virginia “the most ambitious capital campaign in the history of public higher education.” The campaign was begun in 2004 by a former UVa president, John T. Casteen III.

The university was able to use its “‘public ivy’ status” as a fund-raising tool, Robert D. Sweeney, senior vice president for university advancement, said in an e-mail. “We dared to aspire to be included with the best of the privates.”

He also credited an “extraordinary volunteer leadership who not only gave gifts and made calls but challenged staff and university leadership to really push,�…

May 20, 2013, 4:55 am

Governance Changes Improve Business Outlook at Penn State

By Eric Kelderman

Major governance changes that Pennsylvania State University’s Board of Trustees approved this month are likely to improve the university’s creditworthiness, according to a report released last week by Moody’s Investors Service.

The governance reforms were a response to some of the problems that may have exacerbated the scandal sparked by Jerry Sandusky, the former football coach convicted last year of more than 40 counts of sexual abuse against young boys.

Among the board’s changes, adopted on May 3, were making the state’s governor and the university’s president two out of six ex officio board members who may not vote; increasing the number of trustees required for a quorum; imposing term limits on all but the ex officio members; and “enhancing” the board’s conflict-of-interest policy.

The changes not only will help prevent future problems stemming from a lack of board…

May 15, 2013, 3:51 pm

College in Georgia Sues for Right to Post Billboard in Tennessee

By Lee Gardner

When the Tennessee Higher Education Commission contacted Berry College recently and demanded money, the president of the Georgia college, Stephen R. Briggs, was taken aback.

“We were kind of stunned,” he said. “You’ve gotta be kidding?”

At issue was a single billboard Berry had rented near Nashville that features a flattering view of the campus, the slogan “26,000 acres of opportunity,” and the college’s name and Web address.

The billboard doesn’t mention that the small private college is in Rome, Ga., about 200 miles down the interstate from Nashville. But the commission told Berry that, under Tennessee law, the out-of-state college needed to register as an educational institution in Tennessee—paying a hefty fee in the process—or face stiff fines.

Berry responded on Monday with a lawsuit filed in federal court against the Tennessee Higher Education…

May 15, 2013, 2:39 pm

Music Moguls Give $70-Million to U. of Southern California

By Don Troop

The music- and audio-industry executives Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre—whose given name was Andre Young—are giving $70-million to establish an entrepreneurship program at the University of Southern California, the university announced on Wednesday.

The USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation will recruit students interested in such areas as marketing, business entrepreneurship, computer science and engineering, audio and visual design, and the arts, and will seek to create a new generation of innovators, according to the university. The $70-million gift, comprising $35-million donations from each man, is part of the $6-billion Campaign for the University of Southern California.

Mr. Iovine, who will deliver the university’s commencement address on Friday, worked as a producer and engineer for such artists as John Lennon and Bruce …

May 10, 2013, 3:20 pm

Student-Loan Report Prompts Calls for Refinancing Options

By Allie Bidwell

Frustrated borrowers with private student loans have often said they feel trapped in their debt, struggling with high monthly payments and few options to ease the burden. Their concerns received backing from a report released on Wednesday by a federal consumer-protection agency.

The report, issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calls for more flexible repayment options and a refinancing market for private student loans.

In the report, the agency analyzes the more than 28,000 comments it received about the difficulties faced by many borrowers with private student loans. The rising amount of student debt can have a “domino effect” on society because high monthly loan payments can deplete a borrower’s savings, making him or her less likely to buy a home or make other financial decisions that could help fuel the economy, the report says.

The report suggests a number…

May 7, 2013, 3:03 pm

Strayer U.’s Discounts Reflect Shifts in For-Profit-College Sector

By Goldie Blumenstyk

With enrollments still falling and costs for recruiting students still rising, companies that run for-profit colleges continue to scramble: Some are offering bigger scholarships, some are instituting selectivity in admissions so they enroll students more likely to graduate, and some are holding the line on tuition increases for current students to deter them from dropping out.

For Strayer Education, the approach seems to be “all of the above.”

As it reported last week that its new-student enrollments were down 14 percent from the same period a year ago, the company also announced the creation of a new Graduate Completion Fund, which will allow Strayer undergraduates who complete three-quarters of their courses to receive the final quarter of their courses free. The company also announced that it would freeze tuition for all current undergraduates (at $1,700 a course, its charges a…

May 7, 2013, 1:43 pm

U. of Texas at Austin Sets Record Pace for Fund Raising

By Lee Gardner

The broader economy sputters on, but cash is gushing into the University of Texas at Austin at an unprecedented rate. On Monday the flagship institution announced that it had raised $302-million so far during the fiscal year that ends on August 31—an average of $1-million in gifts per business day. At the same point last year, it had raised $222-million.

The university is on pace to break its previous annual fund-raising record, of $366-million in 2008.

A substantial part of the current total derives from the flagship’s incipient medical school. In January the university announced that the computer magnate Michael Dell and his wife Susan had contributed $50-million through their foundation to establish the Dell Medical School, which is scheduled to enroll its first class in 2016. (The state’s higher-education coordinating board has suggested that Texas universities refrain from …