Straws in the Wind - Part 368

From Inside Higher Ed: A federal judge ruled Wednesday that undocumented students in Nebraska can no longer pay in-state tuition rates, a win for the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued the state over the issue in April, The Nebraska Examiner reported. At the time, state leaders sided with the DOJ in a joint consent decree.  The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Buescher quashes a two-decade-old state law that allowed noncitizens to pay in-state tuition if they lived in the state for at least three years and graduated from a Nebraska high school, among other criteria.

Buescher wrote in his 54-page opinion that permitting undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates while out-of-state citizens pay more “blatantly” violated federal law... Nebraska is the latest state to topple in a series of lawsuits filed by the DOJ targeting in-state tuition benefits for undocumented students...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/06/05/federal-judge-ends-state-tuition-nebraska-noncitizens.

Straws in the Wind - Part 277

From the Nebraska Examiner: Some University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty are looking to make history again next month by seeking “no-confidence” votes, this time targeting three top administrators they describe as “architects” of recent budget cuts at UNL. In a draft motion and resolutions shared Tuesday morning with the Nebraska Examiner, faculty are proceeding with plans to effectively impeach Mark Button, UNL’s executive vice chancellor; Tiffany Heng-Moss, newly named vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Jennifer Nelson, interim vice chancellor for research and innovation.

“The architects of the program eliminations must be held accountable so the UNL community can move forward,” said Susan VanderPlas, a statistics professor and member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

In November, as then-UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett pursued $27.5 million in budget cuts, the UNL Faculty Senate passed UNL’s first-ever no-confidence vote, 60-14. Bennett abruptly resigned in January, leaving with a $1.1 million buyout...

Full story at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/03/03/unl-faculty-to-introduce-no-confidence-resolutions-against-three-more-administrators/. 

Straws in the Wind - Part 215

From AP: ...For institutions like Duke that operate both a University and a Health System, the lapses in federal funding cut key revenue streams. In response, Duke enacted a $364 million cost-cutting program, becoming one of the first universities to trim its personnel pool amid the federal funding changes and one of the institutions with the largest budgetary cuts. The program has produced $229 million in savings across Duke’s departments and schools for the fiscal year 2026 budget, according to a September Academic Council presentation by Executive Vice President Daniel Ennis and Rachel Satterfield, vice president for finance and treasurer. The goal, though, is to reduce its expense base by $350 million by 2030, which Duke aims to accomplish by saving an additional $47 million in each of the next two years, another $30 million in fiscal year 2029 and $11 million the year after. That leaves Duke with $364 million saved — $14 million above its initial target...

In the face of uncertainty, Duke has prepared for the worst, as the move on [overhead] rates alone would cost it an estimated $194 million per year in lost funding. As part of this effort, in March, Duke President Vincent Price announced that the University would embark on a cost-reduction program, which began with a hiring freeze, a review of administrative efficiency and reducing non-personnel expenses...

In mid-April, University administrators said in a webinar that “employment action” would be “inescapable.” Two weeks later, the University announced a voluntary separation incentive program (VSIP) — buyouts for eligible staff. Ultimately, it extended offers to 939 staff members, of which 599 accepted, constituting 5% of Duke’s full-time staff.

...From the beginning, Duke made clear that if too few staff members accepted voluntary severance packages, non-voluntary layoffs would follow. In June, Price warned that would “likely” be the case. The layoffs largely took place in mid-August as students were making their way to campus and amounted to 45 employees being laid off by September...Even faculty members were affected by the cuts. In June, Price announced a retirement incentive program for eligible faculty members, which 82 of 273 faculty took. In Duke’s School of Medicine, which was particularly affected by NIH award cuts, tenured faculty members who were underperforming could come to face salary cuts per a summer proposal.

...When students and faculty returned to campus in mid-August, things were different. Trinity first-years arriving on campus were greeted not by the typical team of more than 300 volunteer advisers — many of whom had taken the voluntary buyouts — but by a new team of 11 full-time advisers. Faculty who had worked with subject librarians in past years were surprised by the newfound absence of their colleagues, which they say was done without consultation...

Full story at https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-donald-trump-es-colleges-and-universities-stephen-miller-education-funding-f7bfa57ad08fdae98935064edb46437d#.

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From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Rodney D. Bennett, chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, on Monday announced his abrupt resignation — effective next week — after a year of turmoil at the flagship campus. Bennett, who had served as chancellor at Nebraska since 2023, oversaw budget-driven cuts to academic programs this fall that were deeply unpopular with professors and led to a vote of no confidence in November from the Faculty Senate — the first in the university’s history.

Bennett, a former longtime president of the University of Southern Mississippi and the first Black person to lead the Lincoln campus, had been tasked in early 2025 by the Board of Regents to make cuts to close a $48-million budget deficit. Bennett’s administration drew the ire of faculty members this past fall when campus leaders proposed making up part of that deficit by closing six academic programs through a process that professors felt was rushed, lacked significant faculty involvement, and used questionable metrics.

...Katherine Ankerson, a former executive vice chancellor who retired in 2024, will return as interim chancellor. She will be the first woman to lead the university.

...In a number of recent cases, college presidents have departed immediately after making major cuts, often amid campus blowback. Faculty no-confidence votes — like the one aimed at Bennett — are symbolic and often ignored by university administrations. But such rebukes can sour relationships between leaders and one of their largest constituencies, and they can contribute to presidential exits...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-nebraskas-big-cuts-drew-faculty-blowback-now-the-chancellor-is-leaving-suddenly.

James B. Milliken, new UC President

 

James B. Milliken, currently chancellor of the U of Texas system, has been selected as the new UC president. He was formerly chancellor of CUNY and president of the U of Nebraska and has legal background. See: https://www.utsystem.edu/chancellor/biography.

The open meeting started with public comments, mainly focused on UPTE labor relations issues such as short staffing and pay. Also mentioned were mental health services for students and innovation and tech transfer. Then Regents Chair Reilly thanked the search committee and President Drake. Milliken attended and made remarks as did President Drake and some Regents.

Milliken takes office on August 1.

The meeting can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPNyejv26Cc. We will later - as we do with all Regents meeting - preserve the recording since the Regents have no fixed policy regarding retention.

New Free Speech Fellows

The University of California’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement announced a new class of fellows today, continuing its critical work to help educational institutions and communities foster and protect free speech and civic engagement. The 10 projects, selected from among a highly competitive pool, represent students, professors, law enforcement, policymakers and senior administrators—all of whom are tackling challenging and timely issues pertaining to expression, academic freedom and campus life.

"Our third class of fellows is pursuing critical issues shaping the national conversation around expression and civic engagement,” said Michelle Deutchman, the Center’s executive director. “Their projects will contribute to a rich legacy of research, insight and expertise on free speech in higher education; we are proud to welcome them to the Center.”

Over the course of a year, the fellows will research complex topics such as student activism, student leader information networks, targeted harassment of faculty and the relationship between students and campus law enforcement. Their projects will include developing educational materials and programs that can serve as a roadmap to safeguarding and encouraging the free exchange of ideas while simultaneously ensuring the institutional values of equity and inclusion. Each fellow will spend time on one of the 10 UC campuses to dialogue with students, faculty, administrators and others to inform their ongoing work.

The Center’s 2020-2021 fellows are:

Ernesto Arciniega, UCLA Hispanic Literatures PhD student

- "Lighting the Way for Undocumented Students at the UC: Empowerment, Campus Policies, Free Speech and Civic Engagement”

 

Cerri Banks, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, Skidmore College

- "Black Administrators and Black Student Activism - Media’s Impact on Navigating Relationships and Transforming Learning”

Cassie Barnhardt, Associate Professor, Educational Policy and Leadership Studies, University of Iowa, College of Education

- "Comparing Contemporary Campus Mobilization at Scale: Tactics, Intensity, and Media Attention”
 

Ryan Coonerty, Third District Supervisor for Santa Cruz County, California
- "Skokie: Free Speech and Community”
 

Jill Dunlap, Director for Research and Practice at NASPA – National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and Alice Yau, Police Officer-Instructor-Trainer, Chicago Police Department 

- "Coming Together: Student and Law Enforcement Understanding of Campus Free Speech Policies and Procedures”
 

Nina Flores, Assistant Professor, Social and Cultural Analysis of Education, College of Education, California State University Long Beach

- "Tweets, Threats, and Censorship: Campus Resources to Support Faculty Through Incidents of Targeted Harassment”

Nicholas Havey, UCLA Higher Education and Organizational Change PhD student

- "Are Campuses Echo Chambers? Exploring the Information Networks of Student Leaders”

Jennifer Lambe, Associate Professor, Communication, University of Delaware

- "Best Practices for Balancing Free Speech and Diversity in Higher Education”

Elizabeth Niehaus, Associate Professor, Educational Administration, University of Nebraska – Lincoln

- "Self-Censorship or Just Being Nice? Understanding College Students’ Moral Reasoning around Free Speech in the Classroom”

 

Brian Soucek, Professor of Law, University of California, Davis

- "Institutional Values, Academic Freedom, and the First Amendment”

Source: https://mailchi.mp/20c18e20d1f2/uc-national-center-for-free-speech-and-civic-engagement-selects-third-class-of-fellows

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Note: More details about the individual projects can be found at: 

https://freespeechcenter.universityofcalifornia.edu/fellows-20-21/