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George Washington University has reached a $5.4 million settlement with former students who allege the institution broke its contract with them when it abruptly switched to online-only classes at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A district judge in Washington, D.C., approved the settlement Wednesday. The four student plaintiffs will receive $10,000 each, and the remainder of the settlement fund will be distributed as a tuition refund of about $193 for each student who attended online classes during the spring semester of 2020.

The aftermath of the Claudine Gay’s resignation as president of Harvard University continues to reverberate through the media, including analysis and commentary.
 
Below is a sample of today’s media coverage:
 
‘Protect Students Better’: Harvard Undergrads and Graduate Students Hope University Now Focuses More on Their Well-Being
The Boston Globe (January 5, 2024)
 
Conservative anti-DEI Activists Claim Victory in Harvard Leader’s Fall
The Washington Post (January 5, 2024)
 
Conservatives Toppled Two College Presidents. They’re Not Done Yet.
The Wall Street Journal (January 5, 2024)
 
Harvard Crisis Signals Broader Fight Over What a University Should Be
The Wall Street Journal (January 5, 2024)
 
Harvard Agitators Turn Their Ire Toward Penny Pritzker
Politico.com (January 5, 2024)
 
Claudine Gay Was Just the Start: US College Presidents Feel a Chilling Effect
USA Today (January 5, 2024)

The Fallout for College Presidents and a Warning from Claudine Gay
WGBH, Boston (January 5, 2023)
 
Claudine Gay’s Resignation from Harvard Points to Challenges University Presidents Face in 21st Century - Analysis
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON, Canada (January 5, 2024)
 
 
Claudine Gay and America’s Institutions – Editorial
The Wall Street Journal (January 5, 2024)
 
Harvard, the Bud Light of Universities – Commentary
Boston Herald (January 5, 2024)
 
Elite Universities’ Culture Problem Must Be Solved - Commentary
Boston Herald (January 5, 2024)
 
An Unwillingness to Accept a Black Woman as Harvard’s President Led to Claudine Gay’s Resignation - Commentary
The Boston Globe (January 5, 2024)
 
The Claudine Gay Debacle Was Never About Merit - Commentary
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
The Problems Only Start With Plagiarism - Commentary
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
How Legal Counsel Doomed Leadership At Harvard And UPenn - Commentary
Forbes.com (January 5, 2024)
 

The aftermath of the Claudine Gay’s resignation as president of Harvard University continues to reverberate through the media, including analysis and commentary.
 
In a New York Times op-ed, Gay attempts to explain events by writing: “The campaign against me was about more than one university and one leader. This was merely a single skirmish in a broader war to unravel public faith in pillars of American society. Campaigns of this kind often start with attacks on education and expertise, because these are the tools that best equip communities to see through propaganda. But such campaigns don’t end there. Trusted institutions of all types—from public health agencies to news organizations—will continue to fall victim to coordinated attempts to undermine their legitimacy and ruin their leaders’ credibility. For the opportunists driving cynicism about our institutions, no single victory or toppled leader exhausts their zeal.”
 
Below is a sample of today’s media coverage:
 
Former Harvard President Defends, Explains Herself in Op-Ed
Inside Higher Ed (January 4, 2024)
 
Claudine Gay: What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me – Presidential Opinion
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
For Harvard’s First Black President, Race Became the Unavoidable Issue
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
How the Push for Diversity at Colleges and Companies Came Under Siege
The Wall Street Journal (January 4, 2024)
 
Resignation at Harvard Latest But Not Last Salvo in GOP War on Colleges
The Washington Post (January 4, 2024)
 
A Brief Guide to How Colleges Adjudicate Plagiarism Cases
The Chronicle of Higher Education (January 4, 2024)
 
 
 
The Resignation of Harvard’s President Is a Chance for Schools to Learn – Editorial
The Washington Post (January 4, 2024)
 
How Not to Defend Claudine Gay - Commentary
The Chronicle of Higher Education (January 4, 2024)
 
How We Squeezed Harvard to Push Claudine Gay Out – Commentary
The Wall Street Journal (January 4, 2024)
 
The Persecution of Harvard’s Claudine Gay - Commentary
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
Harvard Couldn’t Save Both Claudine Gay and Itself - Commentary
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
The Word That Undid Claudine Gay - Commentary
The New York Times (January 4, 2024)
 
Universities and Corporations Should Have the Right to Remain Silent - Commentary
The Washington Post (January 4, 2024)
 
Colleges Are Home to Many Left-Wing Ideas and Activists. That’s Fine. - Commentary
The Washington Post (January 4, 2024)
 
Harvard's Claudine Gay Faced an Uphill Battle: Black Women Are More Undermined at Work - Commentary
USA Today (January 4, 2024)
 
Claudine Gay’s Resignation Shines a Light on the Academic Hypocrisies of Elite Universities - Commentary
The New Republic (January 4, 2024)

At Carlow University, administrators, faculty and staff no longer get raises at the start of the fiscal year. The university waits until enrollment numbers are finalized for the academic year, and if enough students showed up, doles them out. 
 

Miah Bressie, a high school senior from a small town in south-central Missouri, had barely heard of Washington University in St. Louis—let alone considered applying—until a student in the graduating class ahead of hers was accepted last fall. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Ozarks, Bressie’s blue-collar hometown, Houston, has a median income of $40,893 and a bachelor’s degree attainment rate of just 14.5 percent. So for Bressie and many of the other 70-some students in her graduating class, attending a selective, private institution like WashU was seen as out of reach. But then an admissions representative from WashU showed up at the Houston High School college fair last fall, and Bressie’s outlook changed.