Federal Agencies Reopen for Business
BU IN DC
President Robert A. Brown participated the Association of American Universities Board of Directors meeting on January 31.
Provost Jean Morrison attended a meeting of the Education Advisory Board on January 24 and 25, and met with staff on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on January 25.
FEDERAL AGENCIES REOPEN FOR BUSINESS
On January 25, Congress and the White House reached a deal to temporarily reopen federal government agencies that had been closed for 35 days. The measure extends the agencies’ budgets through February 15, giving lawmakers three weeks to negotiate a final compromise on funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2019. Without a final deal, impacted federal agencies could close again. Program staff with the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and other agencies are addressing a significant backlog of grant awards and review panels, as well as announcing some changes to submission deadlines.
UNIVERSITIES OPPOSE TITLE IX PROPOSAL
The public comment period for the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed changes to Title IX, the federal law that governs gender equity in education, closed on Wednesday. The Department received more than 100,000 comments, including letters expressing significant concerns from Boston University, the Association of American Universities, the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities in Massachusetts, the American Council on Education and a coalition of 60 higher education associations, and the City of Boston. BU’s letter lamented provisions in the proposal that could discourage victims of sexual misconduct from reporting their experience and that more narrowly define what constitutes sexual harassment. Due to the significant number of comments the Department must review, it is unclear when the agency will publish a final Title IX rule.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
The next installment of the Research on Tap series hosted by BU Research will be held on Monday, February 4. The “Costal Cities, People, and Waterways” session will feature microtalks by a dozen BU faculty working to better understand the connections between humans and inland waterways and urban areas on the coast, from the Amazon Basin to Southeast Asia and Indonesia to coastal New England. A wine and cheese reception will follow the presentations, giving investigators the opportunity to interact with potential research collaborators.