Afternoon Update: Harvard Medical School Will Stop Cooperating With ‘U.S. News’ Rankings

Blasphemy and DEI; making diversity in nursing ed; 36% of higher-ed supervisors seek new jobs; faculty strike at U. of Illinois at Chicago; and more. ADVERTISEMENT [Afternoon Update Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now read The Chronicle on [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. SPREADING RESISTANCE [After Law-School Revolt, Harvard Medical School Will Stop Cooperating With ‘U.S. News’ Rankings]( By Francie Diep [STORY IMAGE]( Like the law-school leaders before him, the Harvard dean George Q. Daley said rankings create perverse incentives. ADVERTISEMENT THE REVIEW | OPINION [Blasphemy Is Not a DEI Issue]( By Joan W. Scott [STORY IMAGE]( The Hamline case does not illustrate a tension between diversity and academic freedom. RACE ON CAMPUS [A High-Demand Major With a Diversity Problem]( By Sarah Brown [STORY IMAGE]( Nursing faculty members and students are predominantly white. Some say they need better preparation to care for an increasingly diverse population. ACADEMIC WORKPLACE [36% of Higher-Ed Supervisors Are Looking for Other Work, Study Finds]( A large majority cited increased job expectations since the start of the pandemic, and only 59 percent said they had sufficient support to do their jobs, according to the [survey]( by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Only 40 percent said they were interested in remaining at their current institution. (Higher Ed Dive) HIRING AND RETENTION [Duke U. Has Lost 200 Student-Affairs Employees Since 2020]( The high turnover among the 500 workers in the university division has resulted in staffing shortages, losses of institutional knowledge, and uncertainty. About 100 have transferred to other positions at Duke, and about 100 have left the university entirely. Almost 50 new workers were hired in 2021-22. (Duke University Chronicle) ACADEMIC LABOR [U. of Illinois at Chicago Faculty Union Goes on Strike]( The walkout follows nine months of contract negotiations, including a marathon bargaining session on Monday. The union is seeking higher minimum salaries, pay increases that keep up with inflation, mental-health and other support for students, and more. The university’s interim chancellor and acting provost said it would continue normal operations “to the fullest extent possible.” (Chicago Sun-Times) FACULTY [Federal Jury Finds in Favor of Former U. of Illinois Professor in Sex-Misconduct Case]( Two former students on the Urbana-Champaign campus sued over [what they called]( the professor’s misconduct. But not only did the jury rule for Gary Xu; it also ordered one of the women and another plaintiff, who had published online allegations of his alleged misdeeds, to pay him a total of $800,000 in damages. (The News-Gazette, The Chronicle) IN THE COURTS [U. of Iowa Law Professor Wins Free-Speech Case After Criticizing University Doctor]( In news interviews the professor, Marc Linder, assailed James Brown, a urologist at the UI hospital, over his testimony in a labor dispute involving bathroom breaks allowed by the Swift Pork Company. A [federal appeals court ruled]( that Linder was not an agent of the state and so could not be accused of retaliation. Brown’s separate defamation claim is pending in state court. (Des Moines Register) CAMPUS SAFETY [Indiana U. Student Is Stabbed on Bus Because She Is Asian]( A 56-year-old woman from Bloomington, Ind., was charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery after the 18-year-old student was stabbed repeatedly in the head, an incident caught on video. The victim was treated at a local hospital. The alleged assailant told the police she had attacked because it “would be one less person to blow up our country,” according to court records. (Associated Press) RESEARCH INTEGRITY [Alzheimer’s Drug Saga Prompts Journal to Scrutinize Whistle-Blowers]( The Journal of Clinical Investigation will now require whistle-blowers to disclose conflicts of interest after it found that critics of several research papers on a new drug had profited when the stock price of the company making the drug fell in the wake of their accusations. (Nature) PROPRIETARY COLLEGES [Financially Troubled Bay State College to Lose Accreditation This Summer]( In a [letter]( on Monday the for-profit college’s regional accreditor said it would withdraw accreditation on August 31. Without such recognition Bay State will be unable to receive federal student aid, which typically leads a college to close. The college, which is owned by a Chinese company, said it would appeal the accreditor’s decision. (Boston Business Journal) EVENTS [Browse Upcoming and On-Demand Virtual Events]( [STORY IMAGE]( Join a discussion with national experts and leading practitioners on how to navigate an uncertain future and what new ideas your institution can pursue. UPCOMING VIRTUAL SEMINARS [The Chronicle's Strategic Leadership Program Seminars] [Join us January 17-19]( for a virtual professional-development seminar series covering national trends in higher education, faculty diversity, enrollment, retention and conflict management. Each session features an in-depth conversation with a subject matter expert with valuable insight into the challenges faculty members are facing today. 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