OCR launches investigation after Columbia student was allegedly ‘steered away’ from Arab politics class

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint accusing Columbia of discriminating against a Jewish student, a DOE spokesperson confirmed Tuesday, the Columbia Spectator reports. The complaint was filed by Kenneth Marcus, the director of the Initiative on Anti-Semitism at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. According to Marcus, in January a Jewish student from Barnard was discouraged from taking a class with Joseph Massad, a professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia…

Click here for the full story

…Read More

Carnegie Mellon receives $265 million pledge

Carnegie Mellon University has received a huge new pledge to expand its programs. The $265 million gift from William S. Dietrich II is one of the largest in recent years from an individual to a private university, and the largest in the school’s history, officials told the Associated Press. The recession has impacted charitable giving, and the Dietrich pledge may be part of a resurgence. Last week the University of Southern California announced a $6 billion capital campaign, and the Dietrich pledge brought Carnegie Mellon close to meeting its $1 billion campaign…

Click here for the full story

…Read More