A question about Memphis school Obama chose
Some things, as we sometimes find out after the fact, are not always what they originally seemed. That may be the case at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, where President Obama is delivering the commencement address today.
The school won the administration’s Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, in which hundreds of schools competed to win an Obama apperance by showing how they have worked to increase their graduation rates and improve student achievement. Obama picked the winner himself from three finalists chosen by the public.
Read full article >>Did FSU let billionaire buy professorships?
How much control should donors to colleges and universities over who gets hired with their money?
That’s the question at issue in a new controversy over an arrangement in which Florida State University accepted $1.5 million from the extremely conservative Charles Koch Charitable Foundation to endow two faculty chairs. Koch, one of the world’s wealthiest men, funds libertarian and conservative causes with his brother, David.
According to a story in The St. Petersburg Times, which first reported the story, the foundation gave the money to further studies into “political economy and free enterprise.” As part of the deal, an advisory committee was created, with members approved by Koch, which could decide which candidates could be considered. In the first round of hiring, the paper said, nearly 60 percent of candidates put forth by faculty were rejected though two were later approved.
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