Senate Holds Hearing On Higher Ed Regulations
BU IN DC
Karen Antman, Provost of the Medical Campus and Dean of the School of Medicine, attended the Board of Directors meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges on February 23 and 24.
Dean Sandro Galea of the School of Public Health attended a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities, on which he serves, on February 24.
Paul Gugliuzza of the School of Law testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee on patent demand letters on February 26.
SENATE HOLDS HEARING ON HIGHER ED REGULATIONS
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on Tuesday to review higher education regulations that colleges would like to see modified. The chancellors of Vanderbilt University and the University System of Maryland, who led a Senate-authorized task force on the topic of regulatory burden, testified. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) pressed the witnesses on whether they would decrease tuition at their institutions if Congress reduced regulatory burden, and the chancellors indicated they might use the cost savings to help students in different ways. The hearing kicked off the process of renewing the Higher Education Act, which HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) hopes to bring to a vote in the U.S. Senate this summer.
Watch the hearing
SENATORS REINTRODUCE CAMPUS ASSAULT BILL
Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) led a bipartisan group of ten senators who reintroduced the Campus Accountability and Security Act (CASA) this week. The bill updates similar legislation introduced last year that seeks to curb collegiate sexual violence and improve campus procedures for investigating assault allegations. Notable changes include modifying how universities must interact with local law enforcement and requiring colleges to provide both the victim and the accused student a written notice of a disciplinary hearing within 24 hours of reaching such a decision. Debate on the bill will likely be wrapped into the renewal of the Higher Education Act, which is expected to take place within the next two years.
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GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced its Request for Applications for the fiscal year 2015 Foundational Program of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). NIFA intends to award up to $116 million for research, education, and extension projects that address topics such as plant health, animal health, food safety and nutrition, renewable energy, natural resources, and the environment. Deadlines vary based on issue area.