Higher Education Quick Takes

Drexel University students took to social media and wrote letters to President John Fry on Tuesday to criticize the use of a government-owned building on the Philadelphia campus as a headquarters for members of the National Guard. Hundreds of Guard members were called up on June 1 by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf and sent to the city to respond to the protests and property destruction that erupted over the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The Guard members are using the Armory, a building owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the longtime home to the National Guard’s 103rd Engineering Battalion, as a operations and communications command center, Fry said in a message to students and staff members Tuesday. Part of the building has also been leased by Drexel, a private institution, since 2008, and is used as a practice facility for university athletics.

Students who live in nearby apartment complexes and a university residence hall were warned on June 1 that they may see National Guard vehicles and members in the area and at the Armory, according to an email from University Crossings, an off-campus apartment located one block away from the Armory. A letter shared on social media as a template for students to send to Fry said students “do not condone” the use of the Armory by the Guard and that their presence on and close to the campus “has made many students feel uncomfortable and unsafe.”

“Calling in the Guard is a dangerous overreaction to protesting that will likely lead to more brutality and more bloodshed, which will then be on Drexel’s hands and by association, on your hands,” the letter said.

Fry responded in his message that while he understands why students are upset, Drexel “does not fund this space in any way, and we cannot bar the Commonwealth from using its own facility.” The building has housed Guard operations since the 1920s, he said.

“I appreciate that was a shock to our community and has created concern and distrust,” Fry said. “Please know that the university is not condoning violence against peaceful protesters or efforts to silence the voices that have risen up against racism in this country. This is a troubling time for all of us, and the emotional toll many of us are feeling is real.”

The Coalition for College will add a question to its application that enables students and counselors to describe how the coronavirus pandemic has affected education at the students' schools. For both first-year and transfer students, an optional checkbox-style question will allow them to choose the statements that describe how COVID-19 has affected their ability to engage in schoolwork. Statements cover a range of impacts, such as if the student has dealt with unreliable access to the internet or a home computer, or if they or a parent or guardian have suffered job loss or been designated as an essential worker. An optional text field will be available for students who choose to say more.

Counselors will also have a checkbox question to describe the changes in educational delivery and assessment at their school, with an optional text field to share more information.

Last month, the Common Application added an optional question on COVID-19.

Jim Johnsen, current president of the University of Alaska system, was named a finalist for the University of Wisconsin system presidency. Johnsen will complete multiple committee and shared governance interviews next week, according to a press release.

The pandemic posed “unanticipated and unprecedented circumstances and obstacles” to the search process, and several candidates withdrew their names from consideration over concerns about being publicly named a finalist during the health crisis, the release stated.

The search committee will decide after the interviews whether to recommend Johnsen to the system Board of Regents, which will vote to approve the new president.

Johnsen has served as president of the University of Alaska system since 2015. In July 2019, he proposed three potential restructuring plans for the university system following a 41 percent cut to state funding and a declaration of financial exigency. The plan to consolidate the three campuses into a single accreditation for the system was ultimately rejected in December. The University of Wisconsin system in 2017 started merging its two-year colleges with seven four-year colleges in similar geographic areas.

The Key With Inside Higher Ed is a podcast on the uncertainties both college students and colleges face in coming weeks and months.

A new episode discusses how public colleges and universities are seeking to preserve student access amid strained resources. It features an interview with Cathy ​Sandeen, chancellor of the University of Alaska, Anchorage. The multi-campus, open-access university in recent years has experienced its share of tight budgets and other crises, including an earthquake and merger proposals. 

Cathy Sandeen, chancellor of the multi-campus institution, talked with us about how the university remains focused on its open-access mission and trying to prevent the creation of education deserts as it deals with budget turmoil and other challenges. For a national view of the murky revenue and policy outlooks for public colleges, we spoke with Brian Sponsler, vice president of policy at the Education Commission of the States.