Weekly Briefing: This administrator defined "privilege." She later resigned.

A chief diversity officer steps down under fire; factors to gauge a college's financial health; one college wants professors to adopt active learning. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Defining privilege landed this administrator in hot water We’re experimenting with the Weekly Briefing’s format, highlighting three top stories. If you have suggestions or feedback, [let me know here]( or send me an email: fernanda@chronicle.com. - A chief diversity officer defined “privilege” in her Martin Luther King Jr. Day newsletter. In March she stepped down. Sherita Hill Golden, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, defined the concept as “a set of unearned benefits given to people who are in a specific social group.” Though the definition didn’t stray from what administrators and faculty members had used in the past, [powerful voices]( objected. Golden’s resignation from the administrative post — she remains a professor of endocrinology and metabolism — shows that understandings of power and privilege that have dominated campuses for years are now coming in for greater public scrutiny, even at a private university in a state led by Democrats. [Read our Erin Gretzinger’s full story here](. - How do you gauge a college’s financial health? Many colleges have had a tough financial year — think [West Virginia University]( the [University of Chicago]( and the [University of Arizona](. If you’re wondering how your institution is doing, it’s a difficult question to answer. Some factors that contribute to financial health are quantitative, like enrollment numbers or the college’s record of generating net revenue and operating surpluses. Other elements are qualitative — the duration or efficacy of an institution’s leadership and the clarity of its mission. But how good are colleges at understanding those factors? [Our Scott Carlson explores that question here](. - This college wants more professors to adopt active learning. Can it change its teaching culture? Active learning, a teaching method that aims to get students to construct instead of consume knowledge, [is shown to improve learning]( over all and can reduce performance gaps for underrepresented students. The University of Georgia has a five-year plan to help instructors with active learning. The initiative is part of a Quality Enhancement Plan, which the university’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges, requires as part of its reaffirmation process. Teaching experts at other institutions say that Georgia’s focus on teaching culture is ambitious and rare. If the project succeeds, it could offer other colleges a playbook in how to encourage instructors to embrace more-effective teaching. [Read our Beckie Supiano’s story here](. ADVERTISEMENT 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. Lagniappe - Remember. Tennessee lawmakers want students to be able to [carry non-lethal weapons]( like mace and stun guns, on campus. That reminds me of 2016, when Texas enacted a law that allows people over the age of 21 with a concealed-carry license to bring their gun into most campus buildings. Some professors wanted [their offices to be gun-free](. (WKRN, The Chronicle) - Read. Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch, won the 2023 Booker Prize. The novel takes place in a fictional Ireland where the government is becoming increasingly authoritarian. At first the protagonist tries to maintain her regular family life. Then she contemplates: [When is it too late to get out]( (The Booker Prizes) - Read, again. Nikole Hannah-Jones, the New York Times Magazine staff writer and race and journalism chair at Howard University, explains the origins of affirmative action and argues for an affirmative-action policy for descendants of enslaved people [in this essay](. (The New York Times Magazine) —Fernanda SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Chronicle Top Reads RESEARCH INTEGRITY [Here’s the Unsealed Report Showing How Harvard Concluded That a Dishonesty Expert Committed Misconduct]( By Stephanie M. Lee [STORY IMAGE]( Francesca Gino said that another professor could have meddled with her data — but Harvard said she didn’t offer any proof. SPONSOR CONTENT | Loughborough University [Navigating the Data Deluge]( This university is exploring the exponential growth of digital data and its unseen environmental effects. ADVICE [Admin 101: How to Help Professors in Their ‘Worst Semester Ever’]( By David D. 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