All articles tagged with #university governance
LSU athletic director Scott Woodward resigned under pressure four days after firing football coach Brian Kelly, amid controversy involving university governance and financial liabilities, with Verge Ausberry to serve as interim athletic director and lead the coaching search.
Penny Pritzker, chair of Harvard's governing board, faces calls for resignation amid intense negotiations and political pressure from the Trump administration, which has cut federal funds and challenged the university's policies, leading to internal and external criticism of her leadership during a turbulent period for Harvard.
The Trump administration drafted a confidential memo outlining aggressive policy demands on Harvard, including asset liens and governance reforms, as part of a pressure campaign linked to federal funding threats, revealing detailed behind-the-scenes strategies that influenced subsequent official communications and university responses.
Harvard University has announced that it will refrain from making official statements on controversial public policy issues, following recommendations from a faculty-led "Institutional Voice" working group. This decision aims to avoid the type of backlash that led to former President Claudine Gay's resignation after her statement on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The new policy, endorsed by the Harvard Corporation, applies to all university administrators and faculty, although it allows for some flexibility in specific cases. The move aligns Harvard with peer institutions that have adopted similar stances of institutional neutrality.
Kenneth Frazier, former CEO of Merck & Co., and private equity billionaire Joseph Y. Bae will join Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, ahead of the presidential search. Their appointments come amid scrutiny over the handling of the University’s leadership crisis. Frazier and Bae will each serve for a six-year term, with the possibility of extending for a second term, and their election paves the way for the Corporation to announce a presidential search committee to select former President Claudine Gay’s permanent successor.
Turmoil at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University highlights a new playbook for how wealthy donors are exerting influence in higher education. A new class of donors, often in the prime of their careers, are more outspoken about politics and willing to wage war on social media to effect change. These donors are increasingly engaging with expectations of a wider role in university life, threatening to withhold donations and demanding changes in governance and policies. The public nature of their pushback represents a shift in donor behavior, with many donors seeking to control academic decisions and determine what is taught. This trend raises concerns about the influence of money on university affairs and the potential loss of academic autonomy.