Nell Gluckman

The Self-Flagellating President Higher ed finds new critics — in the mirror.

To an outspoken group of college presidents, right wing critiques of the academy are valid. They are gaining steam and convincing others to join their reform efforts. Here's my story: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

We're diving into the Epstein files on College Matters. Check out our latest pod with @ngluckman.bsky.social & @emmymrtin.bsky.social pod.link/1766357400/e...

Is This the End for Larry Summers at Harvard? Revelations about the former university president’s long entanglement with Jeffrey Epstein, the sexual predator, could finally sink the economist who seemed to have nine lives.

Winter comes for Larry Summers
www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...

MAGA Board Members Ousted Their College’s President. Here’s How He Stuck It Out. After a five-year saga rife with politics and interpersonal conflict, Nick Swayne is still leading North Idaho College, which is back in good standing with its accreditor.

This was one of the first colleges to be attacked over a perception that its leftist ideology needed to be rooted out. It nearly lost it's accreditation. But NIC came through that saga and is now back in good standing. I looked into how: www.chronicle.com/article/maga...

I cannot open my LinkedIn without seeing stories of PE/VC bros celebrating how youth sports is the next great investment opportunity/growth business. I get these pitches OFTEN. Nobody with actual money seems to want to grow opportunity, only milk more money from a smaller percentage of rich people.

At the U. of Austin, a Raft of Departures Leaves More Questions Than Answers Much of the senior staff who helped get the new institution off the ground have left this year.

We asked the University of Austin why so many administrators, including the president, have left this year.

We got no response.

www.chronicle.com/article/at-t...

🧵 A dean is abruptly removed. Her account goes viral. At first, it looks like a fight over the humanities. But the more I reported on the University of Tulsa, the clearer it became: this controversy was just the entry point for a far larger institutional unraveling. (1/14)

Is This the End for Larry Summers at Harvard? Revelations about the former university president’s long entanglement with Jeffrey Epstein, the sexual predator, could finally sink the economist who seemed to have nine lives.

Winter comes for Larry Summers
www.chronicle.com/article/is-t...

A State Legislature Wants a University’s Middle East Studies Syllabi. Faculty Don’t Know Why. The University of Arkansas flagship received a request from a legislative office last week for course materials and information about scholarships, emails show.

A legislative office has asked the University of Arkansas to turn over syllabi for nine courses on the Middle East, Palestine and Islam, as well as information about scholarships connected to Middle East studies, according to emails that were shared with me:

www.chronicle.com/article/a-st...

‘Stunned and Angry’: James Ryan Gives First Detailed Account of His Ouster at UVa In an expansive letter, the former University of Virginia president told the story of his resignation, blasting board members and saying the government had pledged to “bleed UVA white.”

Amid an escalating debate over who exactly gets to decide who will lead Virginia's flagship, former president James E. Ryan -- who left amid DOJ scrutiny of UVA -- has decided now's the time to enter the fray.

For @chronicle.com: www.chronicle.com/article/stun...

A Sports Major May Be Coming to a Campus Near You Inside the movement to enshrine athletics as the newest liberal art.

It’s not sports management, sports communication, or exercise science. It’s simply sports. Why some academics, joined by Nike, are behind a new major for athletes.

A Sports Major May Be Coming to a Campus Near You Inside the movement to enshrine athletics as the newest liberal art.

There's a movement well underway to allow college athletes to major in sports the way dancers can major in dance and musicians can major in music. My story: www.chronicle.com/article/get-...

Dartmouth’s President Balks at Trump Compact, Sources Say, as Feds Expand Offer to ‘Any Institution’ Sian Leah Beilock has told faculty members she won’t sign the document as written. Meanwhile, the White House’s broader proposal has shifted discussion about the deal.

My latest with @mzahneis.bsky.social: Dartmouth is close to saying "no" to the current compact, I learned. The decision comes as gov. officials are circulating that the compact is open to all, in what higher-ed advocates call a test of the sector's collective will: www.chronicle.com/article/dart...

Why Religious Studies Is in Trouble As colleges plan to make cuts, departments in this field are finding themselves on the chopping block.

Colleges are cutting many types of departments, but religious studies in particular keeps ending up on lists of doomed programs. I looked into why: www.chronicle.com/article/why-...

White House Tightens Screws on George Mason President, Faculty Leaders The president of George Mason — and faculty leaders — may be punished for defending university policies.

When George Mason's president came under attack by the Trump administration, he did what few embattled presidents dared; he spoke out and defended his actions. On Friday, he may learn whether publicly challenging the government's narrative helped or hurt him. www.chronicle.com/article/greg...

Navigating the Changing Landscape of College Athletics Recent changes to college sports are monumental for athletics, athletes, and all of higher education. Shifts in name, image, and likeness (NIL), revenue sharing, unionization, transfer portal, TV mone...

Shifts in NIL, revenue sharing, transfer portal, TV $ & conference realignment will collectively leave college sports unrecognizable. @sportslawguy.bsky.social @drkarenweaver.bsky.social @ngluckman.bsky.social & Richard Paulsen discuss changes, impact, & more.
studentaffairsnow.com/navigating-t...

As Trump Upends Funding for Research, These Scholars Turn to GoFundMe As the once-stable compact between universities and the federal government founders, some scholars are looking elsewhere for money.

Federal funding in limbo? Try GoFundMe instead. That's the route several scholars have taken in recent months — but the notion of crowdfunding academic research is a double-edged sword. I've got the story @chronicle.com. #HigherEd #AcademicSky

Vying for U. of Florida Presidency, Santa Ono Embraced Conservative Positions. It Didn’t Work. The former University of Michigan president’s bid to take over the top job in Gainesville ended in dramatic fashion at a contentious meeting of the State University System of Florida’s Board of Govern...

UPDATED: Ono spent much of the meeting dodging direct answers. When pressed on Covid mandates — with the questioner pointing out that as an immunologist, he must have an opinion — he answered: “I’m a mouse doctor. I’m a test tube kind of guy.” www.chronicle.com/article/stat...

An NIH Grant Is Restored, With a Catch: Cut A Study on Trans Youth HIV scientists were given a choice: Eliminate a study of transgender youth or lose a shot to recover a larger grant. They chose the former.

SCOOP: HIV scientists were given a choice by the National Institutes of Health: Eliminate a study of transgender youth, or lose a shot to recover larger grants that had been terminated.

They chose the former.

www.chronicle.com/article/an-n...

Bob Morse is retiring! www.usnews.com/education/bl...

Here's my take on Morse's place in higher ed, from 2022: www.chronicle.com/article/wher...

More to come soon, I hope!

Harvard Releases Reports on Campus Climate Both antisemitism and Islamophobia are problems, they say. They differ on solutions.

www.chronicle.com/article/harv...

Thousands of International Students Will See Their Immigration Status Restored, Government Says The abrupt change comes after students at campuses across the country saw their status canceled, and feared they might not be able to stay in the country.

Many of the international students whose immigration status DHS had revoked have already seen their status reactivated in a government database
www.chronicle.com/article/thou...

The University of Michigan's Faculty Senate has passed a resolution in support of a Big Ten mutual-defense compact, joining Rutgers, Nebraska, Indiana, and Michigan State. #HigherEd #AcademicSky

These Faculty Senates Are Trying to Band Together to Stand Up to Trump The idea of a compact among institutions is based on the idea that there’s strength in numbers, and it comes amid frustration that few presidents are speaking out against the administration’s actions ...

Faculty senates at Rutgers University, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, the University of Indiana at Bloomington, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have passed resolutions calling for the creation of a mutual-defense compact. chroni.cl/4cBFrnu

Tracking Trump’s Higher-Ed Agenda The federal government is reshaping its relationship with the nation’s colleges. Use our new tracker to keep up with the latest.

The Chronicle is tracking executive orders, statements from Trump, and agency actions that affect higher education, plus legal challenges directed at those measures. The tracker focuses on four areas: civil rights, research, policy, and immigration. www.chronicle.com/article/trac...

Why Parking Drives Us Mad Long a third rail of campus politics, parking inspires raging debates that are about far more than fees, fines, and crowded lots.

It may seem like there are more pressing things in higher ed right now, but as @jackstripling.bsky.social shows in this episode, parking always matters: www.chronicle.com/podcast/coll...

Nearly Half of Princeton U.’s Federal Funding Has Reportedly Been Frozen by the Trump Administration The university appears to be the next target in a campaign to go after higher education for allegedly failing to suppress campus antisemitism.

My latest on the apparent $210 million federal-funding freeze at Princeton for @chronicle.com. #HigherEd #AcademicSky

‘No Noncitizen Professor at My Institution Can Speak About Politics Ever Again’ Why Jason Stanley, a scholar of fascism, is leaving Yale for Canada.

I spoke with Jason Stanley about why he's leaving Yale for the University of Toronto.

www.chronicle.com/article/no-n...

Faced With Frozen NIH Funding, These Universities Are Trying to Fill the Gap Scientists have been screaming for a life raft. Some institutions hope internal funds will keep them afloat during the chaos.

NEW: During these mass interruptions in NIH funding, scientists have been screaming for help from their institutions. I wrote about the handful of universities that are trying to keep researchers afloat by offering bridge funding — will there be enough to go around? www.chronicle.com/article/face...

Tufts PhD student taken into federal custody, lawyer and university say The university received reports that an international graduate student was taken into custody from an off-campus apartment Tuesday night, President Sunil Kumar wrote in a letter to the school communit...

Full story and ongoing coverage here: www.wbur.org/news/2025/03...