Member News

Dartmouth College (NH) is a sleepy place during the summer months. Students in residence spend their free hours hiking in the surrounding mountains, cooling off in the Connecticut River and playing beer pong on fraternity row. Last summer, a few sophomores found a different way to occupy themselves. They began plotting something that could overthrow college sports as we know it.

Shortly after she pressed three university presidents at a December hearing on whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted campus harassment, Rep. Elise Stefanik went on a fundraising blitz, pleading with supporters to “turn up the heat on these ‘woke’ liberal presidents even further.” It has also opened up a new front for Washington’s influence industry. In campaigns, on K Street and in Congress, the machinery of the city has cashed in on the fight against perceived liberal bias on campus, as colleges have turned to consultants or lawyers to navigate the increasingly unforgiving landscape. This month, the PR firm Marathon Strategies, which launched a higher education crisis communications practice after the hearing, will run a so-called bootcamp for colleges and universities hoping to keep themselves out of similar spotlights.

As more than 2 million graduating high school students from across the United States finalize their decisions on what college to attend this fall, many are facing jaw-dropping costs — in some cases, as much as $95,000.
A number of private colleges — some considered elite and others middle-of-the-pack — have exceeded the $90,000 threshold for the first time this year as they set their annual costs for tuition, board, meals and other expenses. That means a wealthy family with three children could expect to shell out more than $1 million by the time their youngest child completes a four-year degree. But the sticker price tells only part of the story. 

The California Institute of the Arts will become the parent institution of the Vermont College of Fine Arts under a recent deal reached by the two private nonprofits, VCFA announced Tuesday. Under the deal, VCFA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CalArts. The two institutions will remain academically separate, with their own accreditation, trustee boards, faculty, degree programs and academic standards, a spokesperson for CalArts said on behalf of both institutions. Like many other small colleges, VCFA has seen enrollment declines over the past few years and has frequently run annual deficits. The institution said it sought to partner with CalArts because of the “extensive and dedicated resources” that it could offer. 

Connecticut College is set to get a new president after a nearly year-long search. Andrea Chapdelaine, president of Hood College in Frederick, MD, was unanimously appointed by Connecticut College’s Board of Trustees this week. Chapdelaine, a Chicopee, Mass. native, has been president of Hood College since 2015.  Chapdelaine will begin her tenure on July 1, 2024.