Author: admin

  • Dismantling DEI Is a Direct Attack on Women in STEM

    Dismantling DEI Is a Direct Attack on Women in STEM

    Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are the center of innovation, fueling advancements that drive economic growth and improve lives. Yet, despite decades of progress, the gender gap in STEM remains a barrier. 

    Gloria L. Blackwell

    CEO, American Association of University Women (AAUW)

    Women, particularly women of color, are still underrepresented in these critical fields, and recent efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education threaten to push us back even further. If we are serious about securing America’s place as a global leader in innovation, we should be doubling down on investing in women — not gutting the very programs that support their success.

    The data is clear: Diverse companies are 39% more likely to drive better solutions than those that are not. In fields like artificial intelligence, where racial and gender biases have led to flawed algorithms with real-world consequences, the need for a broad range of perspectives is undeniable. Diverse scientific teams are more likely to challenge assumptions, identify blind spots, and develop creative solutions that benefit everyone. Yet, despite these clear advantages, women continue to face systemic barriers that push them out of STEM careers.

    Encouraging our women and girls

    According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), women, particularly women of color, leave STEM fields at significantly higher rates than men. In fact, 43% of women leave the STEM workforce after their first child. While the percentage of women in STEM occupations has grown modestly from 15% to 18% over the last decade, men’s participation continues to outpace them. This represents an enormous loss of talent, innovation, and economic opportunity.

    The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has been on the front lines of this fight for over a century. Our commitment to supporting women in STEM is deeply rooted in our history, from raising $100,000 to buy a gram of radium for Marie Curie’s groundbreaking research — making her the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice — to our present-day efforts funding the next generation of women scientists, engineers, and technologists. Through our Community Action Grants, we support organizations like Self-eSTEM, an Oakland-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering Black, Indigenous, and girls of color through hands-on STEM experiences. These programs are not just feel-good initiatives — they are essential pipelines ensuring that the brightest minds, regardless of gender or race, can contribute to the future of science and technology.

    But today, our progress is under attack. Across the country, lawmakers are dismantling DEI programs in higher education, rolling back decades of hard-fought progress for women and marginalized communities. These efforts are not just misguided; they directly impact our nation’s ability to compete in a global economy. When we eliminate DEI initiatives, we don’t just shut doors on individual women — we close off entire avenues of discovery, limit our technological advancements, and stifle economic growth.

    Doubling down on women in STEM

    This is not the time to retreat; it’s time to fight. We should be doubling down on investments in women in STEM, expanding opportunities for historically excluded groups, and ensuring that STEM fields reflect the full diversity of our nation. Our economy, our national security, and our future depend on it.

    AAUW will not stand by as decades of progress are dismantled. We will continue to advocate for policies and programs that support women and underrepresented communities in STEM. We call on policymakers, educators, and industry leaders to do the same. The future of American innovation depends on it.



    Source link

  • For Your Next Competitive Advantage: Focus On Women’s Health

    For Your Next Competitive Advantage: Focus On Women’s Health

    Want more women in your organizations? It’s time to start talking about the three M’s: menstruation, menopause, and motherhood. 

    Meleah Ashford

    Writer and Life Coach, Find Solid Ground Coaching

    “Today, discussing women’s health remains a taboo because people feel uncomfortable when anyone broaches it,” says Dr. Carolina Amador, the associate director of corporate intelligence at BioMarin, in a recent AWIS Magazine article. “I believe that we should talk about and advocate for women’s health as the first step in creating an equitable workplace.” 

    The vast majority of women in the workplace have dealt with challenges related to monthly menstruation during their careers. In a 2023 survey, respondents cited their top symptoms as abdominal cramps, irritability, and fatigue. 15% of respondents had a more chronic menstrual condition such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or fibroids. Sixty-one percent had worked when they didn’t feel well enough to work. According to Let’s Talk Menopause, 20% of the workforce is in some phase of menopause transition, which comes with its own extensive list of uncomfortable and potentially debilitating symptoms.

    Motherhood includes yet another set of considerations. Between 10% and 20% of all known pregnancies end in miscarriage. Sadly, not all companies have policies for infant loss. If they do, they offer a scant 3-5 days off when recovery can take weeks. After successful births or adoptions, mothers are four times more likely than men to have their competence questioned, they are offered fewer opportunities than men, and they earn less than men over their careers.  

    Implementing effective, inclusive policies

    Organizations have a huge opportunity to craft policies that support the three M’s. What does this look like? 

    • Normalize conversations around these topics
    • Allow flexible work hours or remote work for those with menstrual pain, menopausal symptoms, mental health needs, and caregiving responsibilities for children, elders, or dependents with disabilities 
    • Provide lactation rooms and on-site childcare or stipends to offset caregiving expenses
    • Create clear and transparent leave policies for childbirth, adoption, loss of a child, illness of a child, and how to return smoothly to work
    • Explicitly extend sick or personal leave for menstruation and menopause challenges
    • Initiate employee resource groups focused on the three M’s

    Supporting women’s health is not just good for women; other employees would benefit from flexible hours. It is also good for your business. It will help you attract and retain more women. Research from McKinsey & Company shows that companies with more women in leadership have healthier cultures, generate more innovation, and experience better performance. 

    “We see companies within all facets of the STEM enterprise competing to attract and retain impactful women,” says Meredith Gibson, CEO of the Association of Women in Science, whose Career Center connects recruiters with women in STEM. “Organizations have an opportunity to differentiate themselves by creating policies and offering benefits that support women’s health.”

    We need to retain more women in STEM to effectively tackle the world’s complex challenges. I encourage businesses to boldly and proactively address women’s health as an avenue to creating a more inclusive, attractive, and productive enterprise — or run the risk of losing out. 

    Source link

  • What Is Organizational Development? – Archer Education

    What Is Organizational Development? – Archer Education

    Applying Principles of Organizational Development in Higher Education

    If you work in higher education, you know the industry is constantly evolving. Shifting student demographics, emerging technologies, and market pressures require institutions to be proactive in building a stronger, more adaptable foundation for long-term success. 

    That’s where organizational development (also known as org dev or OD) comes in.

    OD uses a strategic approach that goes beyond surface-level fixes to create lasting, meaningful change. In higher ed, that means optimizing infrastructure, investing in the right people and resources, and fostering the leadership skills necessary to drive sustainable growth. This article breaks down the four essential pillars of organizational development and how they can help your institution navigate change with confidence.

    Organizational Development Definition 

    Organizational development is a strategic, science-backed approach to improving an organization’s effectiveness, adaptability, and culture. 

    Rather than focusing on quick, short-term fixes, org dev emphasizes long-term, sustainable change through: 

    At its core, org dev is about aligning people, processes, and strategy to create a stronger, more resilient institution. 

    How Is Org Dev Applied in the Higher Ed Industry?

    At higher education institutions, organizational development is used to drive strategic change, improve institutional effectiveness, and enhance the student and faculty experience. 

    Universities can apply OD to initiatives such as: 

    By leveraging data, collaboration, and iterative improvement strategies, org dev helps institutions stay competitive in a volatile educational landscape. 

    But how can your institution actually execute on these initiatives? Let’s dig into the nuts and bolts of true organizational development. 

    The Four Pillars of Organizational Development 

    Organizational development can be distilled into four essential pillars that need to be addressed to create lasting, effective change. From the right technological infrastructure to the competencies that drive leadership, each element plays a critical role in shaping a university’s success. 

    1. Infrastructure     

    A strong OD strategy starts with the right tools. A school’s information technology (IT) infrastructure encompasses all the systems and programs that support the institution’s goals by facilitating seamless communication, data management, and student engagement across all departments. 

    Learning management systems (LMS), customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, and student information systems (SIS) are all essential for effective operations.

    Additionally, collaboration tools — like Asana, Trello, Monday.com, Slack, and Microsoft Teams — are critical for project management and internal communications. With a solid tech foundation, faculty, staff, and administrators can more easily work toward common objectives.           

    2. Resources 

    People and capital investments drive organizational development forward. Universities need dedicated staff to support their online and on-campus programs, including instructional designers, student success coaches, and faculty development specialists. 

    Beyond personnel, financial resources play a crucial role in funding curriculum development, marketing initiatives, and partnerships with third-party service providers. The right investments empower institutions by giving them the capacity to scale programs, enhance student support, and maintain a competitive edge. 

    3. Skills 

    Skills are the specific, teachable abilities that allow team members to execute org dev initiatives effectively. In higher education, these range from technical expertise — such as search engine optimization (SEO), paid media management, and statistical analysis skills — to operations skills in areas such as course mapping, instructional design, and system administration for LMS, CRM, and SIS platforms. 

    Providing training and professional development to staff members in these skill areas can help them better implement and manage institutional improvement efforts.

    4. Competencies

    While skills focus on execution, competencies are the broader abilities needed to apply knowledge and lead meaningful change. Important org dev competencies for university leaders and staff members include being able to align online growth initiatives with institutional goals, make data-driven decisions, and foster a culture of adaptability. 

    Higher ed leaders also should be able to communicate a clear vision and gain buy-in from stakeholders to navigate transitions with confidence. Without these competencies, even the most well-equipped institutions can struggle to implement lasting transformation. 

    Benefits of Org Dev for Institutions 

    Effective organizational development creates lasting improvements in how institutions operate, innovate, and serve students. By investing in OD, colleges and universities can:

    Ready to Level Up Your Institution’s Org Dev Strategy? 

    At Archer Education, we take a strategic, structured approach to organizational development, starting with a full assessment of your institution across all four pillars using our Good, Better, Best framework. 

    From there, we partner with you to implement targeted changes, optimize your processes, and drive your long-term growth.

    Our ultimate goal? To make ourselves obsolete. By the time we’re done, your institution will be operating at its best across all dimensions, equipped to sustain growth and innovation without relying on external vendors.

    Let’s build a stronger, more resilient future — together. Contact us today to get started.

    Subscribe to the Higher Ed Marketing Journal:

    Source link

  • The Office for Students reviews TEF… again

    The Office for Students reviews TEF… again

    The Office for Students has been evaluating the last iteration of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which happened in 2023.

    The 2023 TEF was a very different beast to previous iterations, focusing more on qualitative (submissions from providers and students) evidence and less on the quantitative experience and output measures. But to be clear, this work does not appear to assess the impact or likely effects of these changes – it treats the 2023 exercise very much as a one off event.

    We get an independent evaluation report, written by IFF research. There’s the findings of a survey of students involved in preparing the student submissions (aspects of which contribute to a student guide to evidence collection for TEF), findings from a survey of applicants (conducted with Savanta), and an analysis of the estimated costs to the sector of TEF2023. The whole package is wrapped up with a summary blog post, from OfS TEF supremo Graeme Rosenberg.

    Of all this, the blog post is the only bit that touches on what most of us probably care about – the future of the TEF, and the wider idea of the “integrated quality system”. Perhaps predictably, OfS has heard that it should

    “build on the elements of the TEF that worked well and improve on areas that worked less well for some providers.

    The top-line summary of everything else is that OfS is pleased that TEF seems to be driving change in institutions, particularly where it is driven by student perspectives. There’s less confidence that the TEF outcomes are useful for prospective students – the regulator wants to explore this as a part of a wider review of information provision. And while institutions do find TEF valuable, the cost involved in participation is considerable.

    How much does TEF cost then?

    It cost OfS £3.4m, and the mean estimate for costs to the wider sector was £9.96m. That’s about £13.4m in total but with fairly hefty error bars.

    What else could the taxpayer buy for £13.4m? There’s the much-needed Aylesbury link road, an innovation hub in Samlesbury near the new National Cyber Force headquarters (promising jobs paying upwards of £3,000 according to the headline), or enough money to keep Middlesbrough Council solvent for a while. In the higher education world, it’s equivalent to a little under 1,450 undergraduate annual tuition fees.

    The sector numbers come from a survey involving 32.3 per cent of providers (73: 52 higher education providers, 21 FE colleges) involved in the 2023 TEF conducted in September and October 2024 (so significantly after the event). It looked at both staff costs and non-staff costs (stuff like consultancy fees).

    As you’d probably expect, costs and time commitments vary widely by institution – one provider spent 30 staff days on the exercise, while for another it was 410 (the median? 91.6). Likewise, there was variation in the seniority of staff involved – one institution saw senior leaders spend a frankly astonishing 120 days on the TEF. Your median higher education provider spent an estimated £37,400 on the exercise (again, huge error bars here). It is asserted that Gold rated providers spent slightly more than Silver rated providers – the data is indicative at best, and OfS is careful not to assert causality.

    We also get information on the representations process – the mechanism by which providers could appeal their TEF rating. The sample size here is necessarily tiny: 11 higher education providers, 8 colleges – we are given a median of £1,400 for colleges and £4,400 for higher education providers.

    Was it worth it?

    The picture painted by the independent IFF evaluation is positive about the TEF’s role in driving “continuous improvement and excellence” at providers. The feeling was that it had encouraged a greater use of data and evidence in decision making – but in some cases these positive impacts were negligible given the volume of the input required. Students were also broadly positive, citing limited but positive impacts.

    The evaluation also made it clear that the TEF was burdensome – a large drain on available staff or student resource. However, it was generally felt that the TEF was “worth” the burden – and there was a broad satisfaction about the guidance and support offered by OfS during the process (although as you might expect, people generally wanted more examples of “good” submissions – and the “woolly” language around learning gain was difficult to deal with, even though the purpose was to drive autonomous reflection on measures that made sense in a provider context).

    One of the big 2023 cycle innovations was a larger role for the student submission – seen as a way to centre the student perspective within TEF assessment. This wasn’t as successful as OfS may have hoped – responses were split as to whether the process had “empowered the student voice” or not – the bigger institutions tended to see it as replicating pre-existing provider level work.

    Students themselves (not many of them, there were 20 interviews of students involved in preparing the submissions) saw this empowerment as being limited – greater student involvement in quality systems was good, but largely the kind of things that a good provider should be doing anyway.

    But the big question, the overall purpose, really needs to be whether TEF2023 raised the value of the student experience and outcomes. And the perspective on this was… mixed. Commonly TEF complemented other ongoing work in this area, making it difficult to pick out improvements that were directly linked to TEF, or even to this particular TEF. Causality – it’s difficult.

    If we are going to have a big, expensive, exercise like TEF it is important to point to tangible benefits from it. Again, evidence isn’t quite there. About half of the providers surveyed used TEF (as a process or as a set of outputs including the “medals” and the feedback) to inform decision making and planning – but there were limited examples of decisions predicated on TEF offered. And most student representatives were unable to offer evidence of any change as a result of TEF.

    Finally, I was gratified to note that coverage in “sector publications like Wonkhe” was one key way of sharing good practice around TEF submissions.

    The value to applicants

    Any attempt within the sector to provide a better experience for, or better outcomes for students is surely to be welcomed. However, for a large and spendy intervention the evidence for a direct contribution is limited. This is perhaps not surprising – there have been numerous attempts to improve student experience and outcomes even since the birth of the OfS: by the regulator itself, by other sector bodies with an interest in the student experience (the Quality Assurance Agency, Advance HE, the sector representative bodies and so forth) and autonomously by institution or parts of institutions.

    Somewhat curiously, the main evaluation document has little to say about the realisation of TEF’s other main proposed benefit – supporting applicants in choosing a provider to study at. Providers themselves are unsure of the value of TEF here (feeling that it was unlikely that applicants would understand TEF or be able to place due weight on the findings of TEF) though there is some suggestion that a “halo effect”, drawing in part from the liberal use of logos and that job lot of gold paint, could help present a positive image of the provider. It is a hell of a reach, but some noted that the fact that institutional marketing and recruitment efforts used TEF and the logos presents evidence that someone, somewhere, thinks it might work.

    The thing to do here would be to ask applicants – which OfS commissioned Savanta to do on its behalf as a separate exercise. This research was based on six focus groups covering 35 prospective students aged between 17 and 20 and applying to England. In four of these groups, participants had heard of the TEF – in two they had not – and in every case the applicants had ended up applying to silver rated universities.

    This is backed up by what initially looks like a decent survey instrument – a big (2,599 respondents, covering various existing online panels, and weighted via the use of quotas on age, gender, ethnicity and post fieldwork by provider type, mode of study, domicile, and neighbourhood participation marker) survey conducted in April and May of 2024. The headline finding here is that 41.7 per cent of applicants (n=798) had seen TEF ratings for any university they had looked at.

    Somewhat mystifyingly, the survey then focuses entirely on the experience of those 333 applicants in using the TEF information, before asking whether applicants may think TEF would be important in applying to university of the whole sample (52.2 per cent reckoned they would be important, despite a fair number of these applicants not having even noticed the ratings).

    Can I just stop here and say this is a weird methodology? I was expecting a traditional high n survey of applicants, asked to rate the importance of various factors on application choices, ideally with no prompting. This would give a clearer picture of the current value of TEF for such decisions, which is what you would expect in evaluation. That’s not to say that the focus groups or a specific awareness or use survey wouldn’t be a valid contribution to a proper mixed methods analysis – or as a means of generating a survey instrument for wider use.

    Even so, participants in the focus groups were happy to list the factors that affected their choices – these included the obvious winners like location, course content, and graduate outcomes, plus a “significant role” for the cost of living. Secondary (less important) factors included university reputation, teaching quality, and other personal preferences. Though some of these factors are covered within the TEF exercise, not one single applicant mentioned TEF results as a primary or secondary factor.

    For those that had heard of TEF it was seen as a “confirmatory tool rather than a decisive factor.” Applicants did not understand how TEF ratings were determined, the criteria used, or what the meaning of – say – gold rather than silver meant when comparing providers.

    The focus groups chucked the supplementary information (panel statements, submissions, the data dashboard) at applicants – they tended to quite like the student statements (viewing these as authentic), but saw the whole lot as lengthy, overcomplicated, and lacking in specificity.

    I enjoyed this comment on the TEF data dashboards:

    I feel like there is definitely some very useful information on this page, but it’s quite hard to figure out what any of it means.

    On the main ratings themselves, participants were clear that gold or silver probably pointed to a “high standard of education,” but the sheer breadth of the assessments and the lack of course level judgements made the awards less useful.

    There was, in other words, a demand for course specific information. Not only did applicants not mention Discover Uni (a government funded service that purports to provide course level data on student outcomes and the student experience), the report as a whole did not mention that it even existed. Oh dear.

    Unlike IFF, Savanta made some recommendations. There needs to be better promotion of the TEF to applicants, clearer ratings and rationales, and a more concise and direct presentation of additional information. Which is nice.

    What to make of it all

    Jim will be looking at the student submission aspects in more detail over on the SUs site, but even this first reading of the evaluation documents does not offer many hints on the future of the TEF. In many ways it is what you would expect, TEF has changed mainly when OfS decided it should, or when (as with the Pearce review) the hand of the regulator is forced.

    While providers are clearly making the best of TEF as a way to keep the focus on the student experience (as, to be clear, one stimulus among many), it is still difficult to see a way in which the TEF we have does anything to realise the benefits proposed way back in the 2015 Conservative manifesto – to “recognise universities offering the highest teaching quality” and to allow “potential students to make decisions informed by the career paths of past graduates.”

    Source link

  • ‘Inaccurate and misleading’: Democrat AGs push back against Trump’s DEI executive order

    ‘Inaccurate and misleading’: Democrat AGs push back against Trump’s DEI executive order

    This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

    Dive Brief:

    • Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility best practices are not illegal, said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Illinois AG Kwame Raoul, in a multi-state DEIA at work guidance.
    • In the Feb. 13 letter, the AGs said the federal government lacks the power to issue executive orders that prohibit “otherwise lawful activities in the private sector or mandates the wholesale removal of these policies and practices within private organizations, including those that receive federal contracts and grants.”
    • The AGs of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont joined in issuing the guidance.

    Dive Insight:

    The letter came as a response to constituent concerns about the continued viability of DEIA, the AGs said, mainly in light of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

    The primary EO in question, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” includes a directive that “order[s] all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”

    The executive order alleges that colleges, along with other organizations, have “adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called … ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.’”

    Campbell and Raoul said the order “conflates unlawful preferences in hiring and promotion with sound and lawful best practices for promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workforce.” 

    It’s “inaccurate and misleading,” they said. On Feb. 21, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction, partially blocking Trump’s executive order targeting the public and private sectors.

    While the judge did not prevent the U.S. Department of Justice from proceeding with its investigation of private-sector DEI programs, Judge Adam Abelson held that the plaintiffs would likely succeed with their First and Fifth amendment claims, as well as claims alleging violations of the separation of powers clause.

    Prior to the most recent guidance, Democrat attorney generals have made it their priority to speak up about DEI: Last summer, the AGs defended the American Bar Association’s diversity requirements for law schools. 

    More recently, the Democrat AGs said that the U.S. is “on the brink of dictatorship” due to Trump’s executive orders challenging the scope of the Constitution.

    A key takeaway for HR? “Properly developed and implemented initiatives aimed at ensuring that diverse perspectives are included in the workplace help prevent unlawful discrimination,” the AGs said.

    Source link

  • Will the Vatican find its next pope in an unlikely place?

    Will the Vatican find its next pope in an unlikely place?

    If you’ve seen the award-winning film “Conclave”, you now know how exciting it can be when Catholicism’s cardinals gather behind closed doors to elect a new pope. The declining health in Pope Francis, 88, means another conclave is coming sooner rather than later. 

    So who is likely to win? The truth is — we have no idea. 

    What are the issues the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics would like the next head of their worldwide Church to tackle? We don’t know that for certain either. 

    In his 12 years as pope, Francis has so scrambled the Church and the traditional paths toward becoming its leader that the conclave — already the strangest election you’ll never see — is even harder than ever to predict. 

    With the 120 cardinal electors so unsure, unforeseen events like a stirring speech behind closed doors can produce big changes. That’s how Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis back in 2013. 

    Don’t trust the early bets.

    Another lesson from recent conclaves is to be very wary of any lists of leading candidates. They are not based on opinion polls or popularity contests like forecasts before political elections. 

    They are in fact little more than educated guesses by journalists and bookmakers, and can be laughingly far off the mark. 

    Many lists prior to the 2005 conclave named Milan Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi as a leading candidate; he reportedly got only two votes. In 2013, the pro-conclave lists of papabili — potential popes — did not even mention the eventual winner. 

    But readers always want to know what will happen, and the final result we can’t predict. Since this will be the third conclave I’ve either covered or commented on, let me at least say what to expect.

    First of all, if you want, go see the film “Conclave”at best before we learn if it has won any Oscars. Sure, the film is tenser and more action-packed than a real conclave, and its ending seems improbable. Due to timing limits, the leading characters are painted with a rather cartoonish brush. There are some small mistakes.

    But this is entertainment, not a documentary. It is beautifully filmed. It gives an idea of the predictable ritual and possible mishaps that could influence the outcome. It’s worth seeing even if not totally believing.

    Politicking for popedom

    As the film shows, hopeful candidates drum up support without publicly declaring their candidacy. Open campaigning is out but supporters eagerly swap information about favorites and opponents. 

    Speeches about the Church during the closed-door “general congregations” meeting the week before the conclave become veiled campaign pitches for the ambitious.

    Once they enter the Sistine Chapel for the conclave, the cardinals are cut off from the outside world and sworn to secrecy. This lasts for a few days of voting — a two-thirds majority is needed — until white smoke goes up from the chapel’s chimney and the new pope appears in public for the first time on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica next door.

    What makes this conclave even more unpredictable than earlier ones is that Pope Francis has often overlooked traditional cardinal’s seats in Europe to give red hats to lesser-known and more pastorally-minded bishops from his beloved “peripheries.”

    There are now cardinals in unlikely places such as Yangon, Ulaanbaatar, Algiers and Tehran, representing minuscule communities of Catholics. It’s hard to say what these prelates think or how they will vote.

    A new pope could mean a new direction.

    Pope Francis has appointed about 80 of the current cardinal electors out of 120, so the two-thirds majority needed for election should be there. But since so many of them are not known in Rome, it’s hard to say whether they want to continue his policies or take the Church in a different direction.

    After the 2013 conclave, several conservative Catholic groups — mostly in the United States — disapproved of Pope Francis’s more open style. They said cardinals did not have enough information before they voted him in, and vowed to publish detailed profiles of all prelates on the internet. 

    The College of Cardinals Report seems the furthest advanced, with profiles of 40 cardinals with their positions on key issues like abortion or woman priests. It is headed by Edward Pentin, a conservative Vatican watcher. 

    Another project, the Red Hat Report, began in 2018 with lots of publicity saying ex-FBI agents would do some of the research and freelancers would help edit cardinals’ Wikipedia pages. It also leans conservative but has not made much noise recently. 

    Their main candidate appears to be Budapest Cardinal Péter Erdő, who headed the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe from 2006 to 2016. 

    Considered close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, he seems not to share Pope Francis’s very welcoming views on migration but has hosted two visits by Pope Francis to Budapest.

    Power in the Global South

    Another conservative noticed is Kinshasa Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, although the very traditional stances African prelates take turn off other cardinals. 

    Progressives mentioned include Bologna Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian Bishops Conference, and Curia Cardinal Luis Tagle, a Filipino once dubbed the “Asian Francis.” But it’s unclear whether a majority of cardinals wants an extension of the Francis years.

    There are also moderates such as two Italians — possibly too diplomatic Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the current Secretary of Stage (number two man at the Vatican), and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem — as well as French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, who shares Pope Francis’s interest in the Mediterranean and caring for its migrants.

    But with two-thirds of all Catholics now in the Global South, will the conclave return to the Italian and then European monopoly on the papacy after an Argentinian pope?

    There are far more questions than answers. We’ll only start to know the responses after the white smoke rises.


     

    Three questions to consider:

    1. Why was Pope Francis hailed as a rule-breaker when he was elected to head the Catholic Church in 2013?
    2. How does politics play out in the election of a new pope?
    3. If you were part of the next conclave what would you be looking for in the candidates for pope?


     

    Source link

  • Report finds racial disparities in STEMM degree persistence

    Report finds racial disparities in STEMM degree persistence

    A new report from the Common App found major racial disparities in persistence rates for students who enter college pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics or medicine.

    Just over half of all college applicants express interest in a STEMM field before entering college—except for Asian American students, 72 percent of whom are interested in STEMM. But while more than half of white and Asian students pursuing STEMM obtain a degree in their chosen field within six years, only one-third of first-generation and Latino students who pursue STEMM, and 28 percent of Black or African American students, persist to earn a degree.

    The disparities go beyond race. While 54 percent of continuing-generation STEMM students earn a degree in their chosen field, only 34 percent of first-gen students do so. And 51 percent of STEMM-interested students from above the median household income earn a degree in their field, compared to 38 percent of students from below median income levels.

    “Our research finds many more talented STEMM aspirants from underrepresented backgrounds applying for college than completing it,” the report concludes.

    The study also found that more female STEMM students switch their degree paths (18 percent) than male students (14 percent), though they complete STEMM degrees at similar rates.

    Source link

  • Stanford drops plan to buy Bay Area campus

    Stanford drops plan to buy Bay Area campus

    Stanford University backed off a plan, almost four years in the making, to buy the Notre Dame de Namur University campus in nearby Belmont, Calif., the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

    “The university arrived at this decision after evaluating many factors, some of which could not be anticipated when Stanford first entered into an option purchase agreement with NDNU almost four years ago,” Stanford officials wrote in a Tuesday statement announcing the decision.

    Officials added that as the university was “exploring possible academic uses for a Stanford Belmont campus,” it became clear “that identifying and establishing those uses for a potential Belmont campus will take significantly longer than we initially planned.”

    Administrators also seemed to hint at potential financial concerns, as President Donald Trump has sought—unsuccessfully, so far—to cap reimbursements for indirect research costs funded by the National Institutes of Health, which experts have warned will harm research universities. 

    “The landscape for research universities has changed considerably since Stanford entered into the option purchase agreement with NDNU,” Stanford officials wrote. “These changes are resulting in greater uncertainties and a different set of institutional and financial challenges for Stanford.”

    In their own statement, NDNU officials noted the university would continue to seek a buyer and expressed disappointment that the sale had fallen through.

    Notre Dame de Namur has sought to sell the Belmont campus near Palo Alto since it shrank its offerings and moved a number of its programs online in 2021 amid financial challenges that pushed it to the brink of closure. Now the private Roman Catholic institution is focused on graduate education and offers a mix of in-person, hybrid and online programs.

    Officials had expected the sale of the Belmont campus to provide a financial boon.

    “Our focus remains on finding a buyer who will preserve and honor the historical significance of this beautiful campus and continue to serve the community-oriented mission that has long been a cornerstone of Notre Dame de Namur University,” NDNU president Beth Martin wrote.

    Source link

  • Local lawmakers press Penn to uphold DEI

    Local lawmakers press Penn to uphold DEI

    Local lawmakers walked out of a meeting with University of Pennsylvania officials on Tuesday due to what they said was insufficient support for diversity, equity and inclusion, WHYY reported.

    Pennsylvania state senator Art Haywood and state representative Napoleon Nelson, both Democrats, reportedly walked out of the meeting after a Penn official referred to diversity as a “lightning rod.” 

    The meeting, which included several elected state and city officials, became contentious, with lawmakers pressing Penn to hold its ground against the Trump administration’s executive actions on DEI, according to WHYY.

    Penn has since removed webpages about its DEI initiatives and updated its nondiscrimination policies, despite swirling legal questions and a nationwide injunction handed down last week that blocked the Trump administration’s plans to crack down on college DEI efforts.

    University officials denied backtracking on Penn’s commitment to DEI, according to lawmakers’ accounts of the meeting.

    A university spokesperson told the Philadelphia radio station that Penn remains “committed to nondiscrimination in all of our operations and policies” and said the institution appreciated the concerns raised.

    Lawmakers indicated that they would continue to press Penn on its commitment to DEI; several provided fiery statements to WHYY casting the university’s response as weak.

    “Penn has made a cowardly move, rushing to heed dog-whistle demands from a feckless federal leadership and dismantle their programs that welcome students and workers from an expansive range of backgrounds,” state senator Nikil Saval, a Democrat, told the radio station.

    Source link

  • Your alumni magazine is a source of marketing gold

    Your alumni magazine is a source of marketing gold

    In a time of skyrocketing paper and postage costs, alumni magazines are paradoxically enjoying a renaissance. After cutting back—or cutting down—print issues during the pandemic, many institutions are now pushing for expanded page counts, more copies, better photography, multimedia extras and more institutional support.

    Why?

    Because audiences appreciate the thought-provoking content and the tangible, premium reminder of the enduring connection with their alma mater. In a 2024 CASE readership survey, 68 percent of TCU Magazine’s readers reported spending 30 minutes or more with every issue. Almost half reported that the magazine was a go-to source for continuing education.

    Journalists are pouring their passion and experience into institutional magazines because higher education shines glimmers of hope into an increasingly dark world. They highlight purpose-driven students who will tackle the problems of the future and brilliant faculty whose research is providing innovative solutions to the planet’s most pressing challenges.

    Our readership analytics at TCU Magazine have long shown a strong audience appetite for well-researched and carefully written and edited feature stories about forward momentum and its relationship to education. Since 2015, our overall page views have experienced an astounding 1,300 percent growth. That number sounds outlandish, but I can assure you it is accurate.

    Our alumni, parents, donors and internal stakeholders are and always have been the primary audiences. But they aren’t the only people who want to know about the students, faculty, staff and initiatives that thrive on our campus. TCU Magazine’s stories are crafted to be relevant far beyond our campus community and long after the initial date of publication.

    In 2021, when all the rules were being rewritten, we proposed a partnership with our colleagues in marketing. We suggested a trial run of using existing magazine stories as peer marketing material, promoting those features to internet users who live in the proximity of the country’s top 150 colleges and universities. The goal was for other professionals in higher education to learn about TCU beyond our exceptional student experience and athletic success.

    TCU’s marketing director agreed that long-form content could run alongside more traditional digital marketing materials. Why not? Serving stories about improving teacher retirement plans; developing free, open-source digital mapping tools; or better understanding mutations in the BRCA gene benefit us and all manner of readers.

    Audiences learn something new and interesting about how research is shaping the future, and we achieve our goal of enhancing TCU’s academic reputation.

    Win-win.

    Together, we built a partnership with a digital marketing agency based in Fort Worth. With their expert guidance, we got a crash course in the differences between Google Display Network and SEM keywords, Demand Gen ad placements, bidding strategies, and the wisdom of narrowing ad placements in social media feeds.

    We launched our first joint academic content campaign in April 2021 with a modest investment. The results were promising: In two months, we got the TCU initials in front of more than six million people around the country and enticed 87,000 of those people to click on the ad and come to the website to read the story.

    Best of all, these were what we refer to as quality clicks, because the average reader spent almost two minutes on one of our stories, far above the internet’s long-form content average of less than 40 seconds. That small trial convinced our divisional leaders that magazine material could be marketing gold.

    We didn’t need to reinvent the wheel or invest in outside development of marketing-specific content because we had a treasure trove already flowing from a steady creative stream inside our office.

    We expanded the efforts in 2022, sharing new stories with 10.5 million pairs of eyes and bringing 116,000 more people to our site to learn about TCU research. That year, we got an email from Puerto Rico about French professor Benjamin Ireland’s research reuniting families torn apart during forced internment during World War II. “I am not sure why Facebook ‘promoted’ your article to me this morning,” the effusive author shared, “but something made me click to read more.”

    We’ve continued to grow these campaigns. Though our mission at the magazine is and always will be to serve the TCU community first, we now factor in whether a proposed story might have a broader impact or might help us tell a more expansive tale about how the type of ethical leadership that flourishes here and makes the world a better place.

    My opinion is that these campaigns have worked because they’re a perfect merger of marketing and communication. We’re doing what magazine writers and editors have always done—telling authentic stories about real people doing purpose-driven work.

    What’s not to like?

    Caroline Collier is director of editorial services at Texas Christian University and editor of TCU Magazine.

    Source link