Jasper Smith

How Virginia Became Higher Ed’s Battlefield With one university president felled and another imperiled, fights over DEI in the commonwealth are getting brutal.

As the Trump administration seeks to overhaul higher ed, two Virginia universities have landed at the center of its war on diversity efforts

I talk with Jack Stripling on this week’s College Matters about why Virginia has become ground zero in that fight

www.chronicle.com/podcast/coll...

HBCUs Reel as Trump Cuts Black-Focused Grants: ‘This Is Our Existence’ HBCUs’ mission-driven effort to serve Black communities could now result in severe budget cuts under Trump’s crusade against DEI. It’s all a big misunderstanding, advocates say.

Trump, who said last year that he had “saved” historically Black colleges, has canceled $140 million in grants to them since March.

Agencies told HBCUs “to change the language in grant applications that explicitly focus on Black people — or lose federal funding.”

www.chronicle.com/article/hbcu...

EQ THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION NIH has canceled $1.2 million in funding for a project to increase the number of Black students in the marine-science field at Hampton University; $2.9 million in funding for a center at Morehouse College's School of Medicine focused on health outcomes among Black pregnant women, who have the highest maternal mortality rate in the country; and a 33-year-old $16-million grant at Florida A&M University's pharmacy school that supports faculty hiring and biomedical research.

It’s like telling a cancer institute to stop spending so much on cancer research.

Here are a few of the many cuts.

Via @jasperjsmith.bsky.social

‘Sinners’ Is Set in Clarksdale, Where There’s No Theater. Locals Are Asking for a Screening. The Mississippi Delta town launched a petition in hopes of bringing director Ryan Coogler and his team to the community that helped inspire the hit film.

In Clarksdale, there's limited transportation and no movie theater. The town inspired Sinners, but many can't travel to see it in theaters.

They created a petition to invite Ryan Coogler & team to host a public screening and experience the Delta.

MY LATEST: capitalbnews.org/clarksdale-r...

Trump Just Made It Even More Difficult to Accuse Colleges of Systemic Sexism and Racism An executive order regarding disparate impact is a “vast overstep” and will likely face legal challenges, civil-rights lawyers say.

'This is a vast overstep': Trump's latest executive order limits what can be deemed as race and sex discrimination. Civil-rights lawyers say Trump's executive order will make it more difficult for students and employees to file complaints with OCR over systemic discrimination. chroni.cl/42O6NlX

If you're an NSF grantee who receives notice of cancellation per today's announcement, please get in touch here or via Signal mzahneis.09.

The Education Dept. Wants to End DEI. Does It Have the Staff? Watchdogs expect longer delays on their complaints.

The Education Dept. Wants to End DEI. Does It Have the Staff? by @jasperjsmith.bsky.social www.chronicle.com/article/ed-d...

AAUP, Middle East Studies Association Sue Trump Administration Over ‘Ideological Deportations’ Immigration authorities have recently taken into custody several visa holders and legal permanent residents who were involved in pro-Palestinian campus activism.

New from me: AAUP, Middle East Studies Association Sue Trump Administration Over ‘Ideological Deportations’ www.chronicle.com/article/aaup...

After Cutting Half Its Staff, Trump Signs an Order Directing the Education Department to Close But Thursday’s order also calls for continuing most of the department’s core functions, like financial aid and civil-rights enforcement. Congress would have to vote on an actual shutdown.

In signing an order to close Department of Education, President Trump called for returning authority over education to state and local officials, while punishing colleges for allegedly failing to combat antisemitism and allowing transgender athletes to compete. www.chronicle.com/article/afte...

Why Hasn’t Columbia U. Sued to Protect Itself? Legal scholars say the university would have a strong case to make if it wanted to use the courts to fight for its funding to be restored.

I spoke to legal scholars and people in higher ed about a question I've had for the last few days. Why isn't Columbia suing? www.chronicle.com/article/why-...

(DOE is the Department of Energy, the Department of Education is ED)

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Tennessee State University to lose $14M federal grant as massive Trump cuts continue The cut, and more uncertainty over federal grants, come as the historically Black university faces a financial shortfall.

Tennessee State is facing a financial shortfall and its interim president recently told lawmakers they would run out of money by May.

Now, the HBCU expects to lose at least $14.4 million in federal grant funding. www.tennessean.com/story/news/e...

Trump’s Education Secretary Described a ‘Final Mission.’ Now She’s Enacting Mass Layoffs. Tuesday’s announcement, affecting around 1,300 staff, is the next step in the Trump administration’s attempt to dramatically shrink the federal role in education.

www.chronicle.com/article/trum...

I had the privilege to produce the photos for @jasperjsmith.bsky.social's recent deep dive into the campus reaction to Dr. Ibram Kendi's new home at Howard University. Here's a few alternate images from the assignment, which included candids of Kendi at an event, and portraits of Dr. Greg Carr.

How Gaza Protests and Trump Threats Have Shaken Barnard College The women’s undergraduate college at Columbia University expelled two student activists. Now it has become mired in a messy debate about discipline.

If you want the definitive story on what the heck has happened with expulsions, protests, and arrests at Barnard over the past couple of weeks — Maya Stahl, one of our ace spring interns, has got you covered:

The Education Dept. Survives for Now, but Program and Staffing Cuts Cause Upheaval Many in higher ed have expressed concern that the department doesn’t have to be eliminated to be weakened substantially.

President Trump continues to threaten an executive order to shutter the Education Department. Higher education experts say the department doesn’t have to be eliminated to be weakened substantially. chroni.cl/4iurMQG

Thanks, Eric!

Can Ibram Kendi Find a New Home at Howard? Christopher Rufo said the antiracism scholar would “no doubt find a receptive audience” at the HBCU. That hasn’t been the case so far.

@jasperjsmith.bsky.social has been crushing it. Check out this MUST read:

www.chronicle.com/article/can-...

Can Ibram Kendi Find a New Home at Howard? Christopher Rufo said the antiracism scholar would “no doubt find a receptive audience” at the HBCU. That hasn’t been the case so far.

Conservative critics said the antiracism scholar would “no doubt find a receptive audience” at Howard. But some faculty are concerned about the hire.

They worry that Kendi is using the HBCU's brand to repair his image:
www.chronicle.com/article/can-...

Some exciting news for The Quad, @theassemblync.bsky.social's higher ed newsletter: We're hosting our first live event!

Join us on 3/25 for an exclusive look at how the Trump administration’s first moves are playing out at North Carolina’s colleges and universities.

If you work in higher ed and haven't had a pay raise in many years, I'd love to talk to you for a story. Please reach out here or adrienne.lu@chronicle.com Thank you! 🙏

A reminder to students / those working in #HigherEd - help The Chronicle report on changes to DEI practices and programs.

Has your college closed an office? Removed a website? Revised DEI messaging? Let us know here!⬇️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Lawsuit Challenges Ed. Dept.’s Authority to Ban Diversity Programs, Alter Teaching on Race The Office of Civil Rights’ guidance would have a “devastating” effect on professors’ efforts to provide viewpoint diversity and equal opportunity in the classroom, the plaintiffs argue.

A legal challenge to OCR’s Dear Colleague letter argues that the department’s references to discrimination are too vague, and fail to give clear indication of what programs are illegal. chroni.cl/3EVYpsh

Ed. Dept.’s Broad DEI Warning Puts College Leaders in ‘Enormously Complicated Situation’ Lawyers urge institutions to act but caution that not every diversity initiative is racially exclusive.

@jasperjsmith.bsky.social cuts through the clutter on the Dear Colleague letter and what it might mean for colleges @chronicle.com. #HigherEd #AcademicSky www.chronicle.com/article/ed-d...

After $240-Million DEI Push, U. of Michigan’s Black Enrollment Barely Budged. What Now? The selective flagship has widely been seen as a model. A backlash could result in cuts.

Can shifting attention away from race to socioeconomic status provide the kind of diversity the U. of Michigan — and others — are seeking? Some are doubtful, but the pressure is intensifying www.chronicle.com/article/iden...

The Deflections of Linda McMahon Adam Harris examines two critical lines of questioning during Linda McMahon's Senate confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Education at the Department of Education.

What Linda McMahon didn’t say during yesterday’s hearing was at least as interesting as what she did.

I wrote about two such moments: newamerica.org/education-po...

Here’s What Linda McMahon, Nominee for Education Secretary, Had to Say About Higher Ed She discussed dismantling the Education Department, investigating colleges over antisemitism and DEI, and increasing access to noncollege opportunities.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s nominee for education secretary, said she’s not “quite certain” whether African American studies would be allowed under Trump’s executive order

Anyway, to put a finer point on it, the nominee to run the Department of Education is not willing to say schools won't be penalized for teaching Black history.

These Colleges Banned DEI Even Though It Wasn’t Required by Law Dozens of institutions in 2023 and 2024 altered or shuttered diversity offices and programs pre-emptively, as lawmakers and the public increasingly turned against them.

Trump has targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts during his first weeks in office. But the anti-DEI movement swept through campuses long before then. chroni.cl/3EBtQYK