Education

The governor of New Mexico is expected to unveil on Wednesday an ambitious plan to pay for tuition at the state’s two- and four-year public colleges, according to a report. The program, which would apply to state residents regardless of their income, is slated to be announced by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham but still needs legislative approval, the New York Times reported early Wednesday. The state plans to use rising revenue from its oil refineries to cover the bulk of costs for the program, which would not cover living expenses. Funds would also only be made available to students upon exhausting pools of resources from existing state aid programs and federal grants, the Times reports. To be eligible, students who recently graduated from high schools or equivalency programs must maintain a 2.5 grade-point average. The program would also be available to all residents regardless of immigration status — in contrast to other states like Georgia where access to public college is … [Read more...] about New Mexico plans to offer free college to state residents

UMass Boston’s four ethnic institutes are the only such public research entities in the state. BANNER FILE PHOTO News that longtime Trotter Institute Director Barbara Lewis was taking a voluntary retirement sparked worry last week, with the Trotter and other institutes at UMass Boston facing uncertainty around their budgets. Asked when or whether Lewis will be replaced, a spokesman for UMass Boston said the university has not yet decided. “Professor Lewis’ retirement was part of a recent campus-wide voluntary separation program,” the spokesman said in an email. “At this time we have not finished our evaluation of which positions will be replaced.” Lewis’ departure comes two years after UMass Boston’s former interim chancellor Barry Mills put the William Munroe Trotter Institute, Mauricio Gastón Institute and the Institute for Asian American Studies on what university officials refer to as a five-year “glide path to … [Read more...] about Future uncertain at UMass institutes

of violating faculty rights and asked it to reinstate a professor removed following his inflammatory comments, former AAUP chairman Henry Reichman said academic freedoms are under fire everywhere. … [Read more...] about Professor: Academic freedoms are under fire everywhere