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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
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May 18, 2007
Outside Protests Drive Catholic College to Drop Graduation Speaker
The College of St. Mary, a 1,000-student Roman Catholic institution in Nebraska, canceled the commencement speech scheduled for Sunday after outside protests threatened to interrupt graduation ceremonies, according to the Omaha World-Herald. The invited speaker was Roberta Wilhelm, a top official at Girls Inc., a national advocacy group that, among other things, supports abortion rights. That position makes it anathema to many Catholics, and a local pastor joined a national group in urging the invitation to be withdrawn. The college’s president told the newspaper that it had then received a barrage of e-mail, telephone calls, and faxes threatening to disrupt the commencement. The national group, the Cardinal Newman Society, has denounced a number of Catholic colleges for not being “Catholic enough.” —Andrew Mytelka
Posted on Friday May 18, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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This is wonderful news! Catholic colleges must remember that they are not just colleges, they are Catholic colleges. Good for St. Mary’s.
— RobK May 18, 10:52 AM #
Sad that this happened. I applaud St. Mary’s on their choice of speaker, and I am saddened that they were bullied by thugs threatening to disrupt commencement. Universities should be places for free and open debate and exchange of ideas, NOT orthodoxy.
— Joe G. May 18, 11:51 AM #
It is one thing to change one’s mind about a commencement speaker because one has been persuaded that the speaker is not the right speaker for the institution and/or the occasion. Even in this case, the speaker should be asked if she/he would be willing not to be speak, on the basis of the reasons that persuaded one, and not simply disinvited. (And if the speaker still wishes to speak, then tough). It is another thing entirely to disinvite a speaker on the basis that (as it seems) outsiders — not students, or even parents of students, or alumni — are threatening to disrupt the institution’s graduation ceremonies because of the speaker. It does seem as though the outsiders did not provide reasons against the appropriateness of the speaker, or did not merely do this, but threatened disruption of the institution’s ceremonies. If outsiders believe the speaker to be inappropriate, then they should do what is appropriate — which is to write letters of complaint, etc., and boycott the event if needs be, or even, if it is legal, stage a march or a protest, which informs those participating of their objections to the speaker. They should not threaten to disrupt the ceremonies.
— Jem, Ph.D. May 18, 01:51 PM #