Daily Lumina News 122321

The unpredictability of COVID-19 is prompting more colleges to adopt policies that discourage—or in some cases ban—students from being on campus in January.
Many campuses are starting programs online. Some are planning for just a few days; others for a few weeks.

It is rare these days for a leader to guide a university for more than a few years or so. That makes Freeman Hrabowski a true outlier.
Hrabowski is credited with turning The University of Maryland, Baltimore County into a nationally recognized gateway for students of color to pursue math and science. At the end of this academic year, Hrabowski is retiring. This episode of Here & Now looks back at his legacy.

Five years ago, Sean Gallagher wrote a book on the future of university credentials. Much has happened since then, and plenty of it unexpected and unprecedented.
He now revisits those predictions and talks about where things are headed next.

When he returned to teaching in-person this semester at the City College of New York in Harlem, Vinod Menon finally looked through a pile of office mail and found a cardboard box the size of a toaster.
The box contained $50 and $100 bills, totaling $180,000. An enclosed note from the mysterious donor asked the school to use the cash to fund scholarships for needy students.

As the Biden administration prepares to lift in May a freeze on student loan payments imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, officials also are embarking on changes to loan repayment plans, debt forgiveness, and interest capitalization.
In their own words, student loan borrowers describe what they would change about the existing lending system.

Just before students at Meharry Medical College went home for Thanksgiving, the school’s president emailed them a video message that he acknowledged seemed hard to believe. Or, at least, they would have to give it a second listen.
Students learned they each would receive $10,000 in cash, no strings attached. The money represents an investment in a future career—and an assist in overcoming hurdles Black students face to become medical professionals.