SECTOR NEWS
Maryland speaker again seeks to force settlement of long-running HBCU lawsuit, after Gov. Hogan veto last year
The General Assembly is aiming to force the state to settle a long-running lawsuit by Maryland’s historically black universities, which contend that for decades, higher education policy undermined the institutions and stacked the deck in favor of historically white schools.
Legislation backed by House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones would set aside $577 million in additional funding for the state’s four HBCUs — Coppin State and Morgan State universities in Baltimore, Bowie State University and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore — over the next decade to resolve the lawsuit, which dates to 2006. (Baltimore Sun)
Community College of the Air Force finalizes education partnership with Stillman College
The Community College of the Air Force at Air University and Stillman College signed a partnership recently allowing the north Alabama school to offer online general education courses to Airmen pursuing their CCAF associate degree.
Stillman, located in Tuscaloosa, is the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities to sign up with CCAF’s General Education Mobile Program.
The GEM Program allows CCAF students to enroll in partnering civilian academic institutions to fulfill general education course requirements needed for an associate’s in applied science degrees. (Air Education and Training Command)
Johnson C. Smith to host national historically Black esports and gaming conference
Johnson C. Smith University continues to break ground in esports and gaming for historically Black colleges and universities.
JCSU will co-produce 2021 ASCEND (Accessing Sources to Catalyze Esports/Gaming Needs & Address Diversity) HBCU Esports Conference and Career Expo on Feb. 5 with MetArena, a St. Petersburg, Florida-based technology company. It will be the first event of its kind to be hosted in a blockchain ecosystem. (Charlotte Post)
Deion Sanders writes letter to President Trump in support of Lil Wayne pardon
President Donald Trump pardoned more than 140 people as part of a flurry of clemency action early Wednesday, including recording artist “Lil Wayne” with assistance from Deion Sanders.
Trump granted Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. a full pardon amid possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, stemming from a conviction more than a decade ago.
The twist here is that the first-year Jackson State coach wrote to Trump on behalf of the rapper. (HBCU Sports)
INDUSTRY NEWS
With California’s influence on higher education, some believe SAT and ACT could be headed for demise (KTLA)
First Louisiana state budget draft likely to include cuts to higher education, health care (WAFB)
Fiscal health of higher education in Arkansas discussed at legislative session (FOX 16)
Facing $37M in funding cuts, Kansas colleges given broader latitude to fire employees (Topeka Capital-Journal)
