Afternoon Update: 2 community colleges share million-dollar Aspen Prize

Fired professors are reinstated at Emporia State; Texas Senate passes bill to ban DEI programs; abortion laws factor into college decisions; 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 [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. SPLITTING $1 MILLION [Two Community Colleges That Reimagined the Student Experience Share the Top Aspen Prize]( By Katherine Mangan [STORY IMAGE]( Amarillo and Imperial Valley Colleges were recognized for such innovative practices as dispatching professors to teach at local high schools and overhauling their relationships with local employers. ADVERTISEMENT ADVICE [My Unexpected Cure for Burnout]( By Catherine M. Roach [STORY IMAGE]( Or, how to declutter an officeful of books and maybe restore your love of teaching, too. TEACHING [Could a Few Emails From You Boost Student Success?]( By Beckie Supiano [STORY IMAGE]( A new study shows that personalized messages from instructors about how to improve students’ course performance can raise their grades. FACULTY [2 Professors Are Reinstated at Emporia State U. as Tension Swirls Over Bonuses]( The two were fired last year as part of what the Kansas university called a realignment that [claimed 33 faculty jobs]( including tenured posts. An appeals officer based the reinstatement on Emporia State’s refusal to explain why the jobs had been eliminated. Questions remain about mysterious bonuses the university handed out later, also without explanation, to 68 professors. (Kansas Reflector, The Chronicle) ATTACKS ON DEI [Texas Senate Approves Bill to Ban Diversity Programs at Public Universities]( The [legislation]( passed on a party-line vote, 19 to 12, and now heads to the Texas House, where members have been more muted about the [proposal]( to [disband]( offices, programs, and training that foster [diversity, equity, and inclusion](. (The Texas Tribune, The Chronicle) STUDENTS [Reproductive-Health Laws Factor Into Many College Decisions, Survey Finds]( Nearly three-quarters of American college students report that the reproductive-health laws in the state where their college is located are at least somewhat important to their decision to stay enrolled there, according to the results of a survey by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation. INMATE EDUCATION [Community College in Oregon to End Prisoner-Education Program and Cut 17 Jobs]( Blue Mountain Community College’s president, Mark Browning, said the college lacked the capacity, financial and otherwise, to continue the program, drawing criticism from employee unions. With the [imminent restoration]( of [Pell Grants for prisoners]( the move suggested that at least some colleges are not ready for the change. (Oregon Public Broadcasting, The Chronicle) FINANCES [U. of Colorado Will Pay $5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Pandemic Shutdown]( The class action, covering the tens of thousands of students on CU’s four campuses in the spring of 2020, alleged that the university had breached its contract with them by charging fees for services that were no longer available after the shutdown. The university refused to refund the money. (CBS News) FUND RAISING [Trinity International U. President Seeks to Raise Money by Blaming Transgender People]( A fund-raising letter sent this week by Nicholas Perrin, president of the evangelical university in Illinois, linked the rise in cultural acceptance of transgender people to a recent mass shooting that left six people dead in Nashville. In a [follow-up email]( Perrin acknowledged “glaring missteps” in his original message and took “full responsibility for any pain or frustration” it caused. (Baptist News Global) RESEARCH FUNDING [White House Plans to Nominate National Cancer Institute Chief to Lead NIH]( Monica M. Bertagnolli, a cancer surgeon, became the NCI’s director last fall. The National Institutes of Health, which provides some $32 billion a year in biomedical-research funding, has not had a permanent head since 2021, when Francis S. Collins, its [longtime leader]( stepped down. (The Washington Post, The Chronicle) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH [The ‘Invented Persona’ Behind a Key Pandemic Database]( GISAID, a long-running database for influenza genomes, offers a safe space to post viral genomes. Peter Bogner, its perplexing creator and overseer, may be jeopardizing its future, through his apparent use of a mysterious alter ego and other actions revealed in a Science investigation that involved interviews with more than 70 sources, open-records requests, and reviews of hundreds of emails and documents. 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. NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. 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