CONAHEC News and Information

Thursday, Mar. 05, 2020

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) today announced the findings of its survey that calls attention to the serious foreign language skills gap in the U.S. workforce. The report, “Making Languages Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employers,” shows the critical demand in the U.S. economy for multilingual employees, providing the most comprehensive look at the value of foreign language to date.

Thursday, Mar. 05, 2020

The novel coronavirus and Covid-19, the disease it causes, are becoming a public-health threat across the world, fueling fears of a possible pandemic.

As more cases are reported, colleges are re-evaluating their study-abroad programs, moving courses online, and taking other preventive measures. Meanwhile, some academic associations are canceling their conferences.

We’ve compiled what you need to know — to be updated regularly — on the virus’s spread and its implications for higher ed.

Which American campuses have reported cases?

Thursday, Mar. 05, 2020

This guidance is for Institutes of Higher Education with students participating in foreign exchange or study abroad programs.

Consider postponing or canceling student foreign exchange programs

Thursday, Mar. 05, 2020

High-level representatives from the U.S. and Mexican governments met March 4 in Mexico City for the 12th Plenary Meeting of the 21st Century Border Management Initiative Executive Steering Committee to encourage increased bilateral collaboration on key issues affecting our shared border.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

The email sparked panic. “Effective immediately, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is temporarily halting the appointment of visiting scientists,” wrote a medical-school administrator to the neurology department last fall.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

On a Sunday in May 2014, 140 students from 49 countries, some in hijabs, some with hair tinted purple to match their graduation robes, walked across the stage to collect the first diplomas awarded at New York University Abu Dhabi.

Former President Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker. But the day really belonged to John E. Sexton, NYU’s president. He greeted every student – many of whom he knew from the 14,000-mile round trip he made from New York every other week to teach – with a fist bump or a hug.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

Michael Bloomberg topped The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s new rankings of the 50 donors who gave the most to charitable causes in the past year largely because of his giving to higher education. The rankings, released on Tuesday, show that five donors gave $1 billion or more to charitable causes last year.

Colleges are major beneficiaries of the 50 donors who gave the most. In 2019, 30 higher-education institutions received $4.7 billion from the Philanthropy 50 donors. That’s a significant share of the $15.8 billion donated by people on the list.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

When things are bad enough, everybody knows. Programs have been closed or neglected; enrollments have declined; a hiring freeze has been imposed; pessimism permeates the campus. While all of that is true of institutions on the brink of collapse, what about those not yet in such dire straits? How can a college monitor its fitness so that it can head off serious trouble — or plan for the inevitable? Our answer is a risk score that quantifies institutional health.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

I’m not Goldie Blumenstyk. I’m Scott Carlson, also a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education. Goldie has been away on assignment, so in this issue you’ll see what I’ve been thinking about this week.

Internships can ease the path from college to career — but they often don’t.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020

In the summer of 1917, a group of university students in Munich invited Max Weber to launch a lecture series on “intellectual work as a vocation” with a talk about the scholar’s work. He was, in a way, an odd choice. Fifty-three at the time, Weber hadn’t held an academic job in over a decade. His career had begun promisingly, but in 1899 he suffered a nervous breakdown and gave up his position as a professor of economics at the University of Heidelberg. Supported by the inheritance of his wife, Marianne, he spent years going from clinic to clinic in search of relief.

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