Brandman University’s online Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) program was one of fourteen named to the Honor Roll in the first-ever edition of Top Online Education Program rankings by U.S.News & World Report. Brandman University is the only institution in California to receive this distinction. In addition, Brandman’s School of Education earned the number ten spot among Faculty Credentials and Training for online graduate programs in Education.

Online bachelor’s degree programs as well as graduate online degree programs in business, engineering, nursing, education, and computer information technology were ranked. These rankings were created in response to today’s high demand for education provided in a flexible manner. With many distractions to detract from one’s schooling, online education has become increasingly popular due to its flexibility.

“U.S.News & World Report’s decision to include online programs in their rankings finally allows students the opportunity for an objective way to measure the quality of a program. These results represent the diligent efforts by the School of Business and Professional Studies and the School of Education and all of our Advising and One Stop staff who are dedicated to giving online students the same level of support as we provide to our on-campus students,” said Gary Brahm, Chancellor, Brandman University.

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The National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona is a nonpartisan center that will advance the national conversation currently taking place about civility in political debate. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have agreed to serve as honorary chairs for the institute.

A new center – to be chaired by two former U.S. presidents – has been created at the University of Arizona to advance the national conversation currently taking place about civility in political debate.  

The National Institute for Civil Discourse is a nonpartisan center for debate, research, education and policy generation regarding civility in public discourse.

Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have agreed to serve as honorary chairs for the institute.

“I am honored to join President Clinton in supporting this important effort at such a critical time in our nation’s history,” said President Bush. “Our country needs a setting for political debate that is both frank and civil, and the National Institute for Civil Discourse can make a significant contribution toward reaching this goal.”

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Northwestern alumnus will speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree

Stephen Colbert, the satirist widely known for the outrageous political pundit he plays on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” will speak at Northwestern University’s 153rd commencement, being held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 17, at Northwestern’s Ryan Field. A Northwestern alumnus, Colbert is host and executive producer of the multiple Emmy and Peabody award-winning “The Colbert Report,” touted by The New York Times as “one of the best television shows of the year.”

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The University of California, Riverside announced Monday that Winston Chung, a Chinese battery technology scientist, inventor and entrepreneur, has expressed his intent to give $10 million to support clean battery power, solar energy and sustainable transportation research at the Bourns College of Engineering.

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The University of Texas at Austin, ESPN and UT Athletics’ multimedia rights partner IMG College announced today a 20-year contract agreement to create what soon will be the nation’s largest 24-hour television network dedicated to covering a university’s intercollegiate athletics, music, cultural arts and academics programs.

The still unnamed channel has a target start date of September 2011 and will be the top branding asset for the university in exposure and value. The new network will be made available to cable, satellite and telecommunications distributors within state, regional and national markets. The deal also includes the possibility of other digital and broadband distribution of some events.

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Carnegie Mellon University researchers have found that within the brain’s neocortex lies a subnetwork of highly active neurons that behave much like people in social networks. Like Facebook, these neuronal networks have a small population of highly active members who give and receive more information than the majority of other members, says Alison Barth, associate professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon and a member of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC). By identifying these neurons, scientists will now be able to study them further and increase their understanding of the neocortex, which is thought to be the brain’s center of higher learning.

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Susan Herbst is UConn's First Female President

The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees today voted to appoint Susan Herbst as UConn’s 15th president, following an intensive six-month search. Herbst is currently the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for The University System of Georgia. She will begin at UConn in July and will frequently be in Connecticut starting in January, to meet and work with President Austin and UConn’s constituencies as part of the transition process.

Herbst is the first woman to be selected as the University’s president since the school’s founding in 1881.

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Diane Sawyer, the award-winning anchor of ABC’s flagship newscast “World News with Diane Sawyer,” is this year’s recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Sawyer will accept the 27th annual award on Nov. 12, 2010 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix (for ticket information, contact Liz Bernreuter at 602.496.9444).

“Walter Cronkite set the gold standard for broadcast journalism,” Sawyer said. “I was lucky enough to have worked with him, learned from him, and was able to see his humane intelligence at work in our lives. I am honored to accept this award in the spirit of Walter’s indelible legacy.”

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The University of South Carolina will offer a course centered on the life of Lady Gaga next year. The course, titled The Sociology of Fame, introduces students to a sociological analysis of selected social issues related to the work of the pop icon. 

“Within the framework of the sociology of popular culture and music, this course specifically focuses on socially relevant elements in the rise of Lady Gaga’s popularity to her current status as a burgeoning pop music icon,” says Mathieu Deflem, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology who designed and will teach the course. According to the Deflem’s syllabus the central objective of this course is to “unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors, with special attention for the role of: business and marketing strategies; the role of the old and new media; fans and live concerts; gay culture; religious and political themes; sex and sexuality; and the cities of New York and Hollywood.”

The course will start in 2011 and it will include a blog by Dr. Deflem, who says he has attended some 30 Lady Gaga concerts. The professor was born in Belgium and has completed extensive research projects including papers on international policing and internet technology.

Bradley University is ranked among the top 100 best values in private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. The rankings appear in the December issue of the national magazine.

“We are delighted to be recognized as one of the best private universities in the nation for the high-quality educational experience we offer students at an affordable price,” said Bradley President Joanne Glasser. “While no ranking provides a perfect indicator of an institution’s match to students’ educational needs, we are again pleased to be included among a group of our nation’s best private universities. This ranking is further independent evidence that Bradley is becoming an institution of national distinction.”

Bradley is ranked third among private universities in Illinois following the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, and 56th in the nation among private universities.

Kiplinger’s bases its rankings on a combination of quality and affordability, considering measures such as the admission rate, test scores of incoming freshmen, and four- and five-year graduation rates. Tuition, fees, room and board, and financial aid are additional factors in the rankings. The complete list of the ranking can be found at http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/

Bradley’s total annual cost for tuition and housing is sixth lowest in the survey at $34,574. Students at Bradley receive an average of $12,618 in need-based financial aid. Non-need based aid averages $7,764.

52 schools expand energy efficiency efforts, earn “A” grades on  Green Report Card

Facing frugal times, more schools are finding that energy efficiency improvements can cut costs without cutting campus services.  Connecting the dots between sustainability and savings is an accelerating trend revealed in the new College Sustainability Report Card 2011. Released this week at GreenReportCard.org, the publication is the only independent evaluation of sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices. Assessing each institution in nine categories, ranging from Climate Change & Energy to Green Building to Investment Priorities, the Report Card provides detailed school profiles and grades for 322 colleges and universities, representing all 50 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces.

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Whether students are pursuing their degrees at proprietary or traditional universities, innovations in delivery methods have fundamentally changed the way Americans are getting an education. A continual driver of technological advancements in education, Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL) and University of Phoenix today announced the launch of PhoenixConnect, a private, academically-focused social network providing students, alumni and faculty tools for greater collaboration, discussion and learning support. The online network will initially be available to the university’s School of Business students and faculty.

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The University of Southern California’s (USC) prestigious School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD) will be offering its renowned Master of Public Administration (MPA) program online through a partnership with Embanet, a leading global online learning services provider to the country’s top institutions. SPPD continues to rank among the best graduate schools in the country, and its MPA degree program was ranked seventh in the nation in the US News & World Report 2008 survey of public administration, public policy and public affairs programs. The online program will launch in Fall 2011.

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With more than 500 million users, Facebook has become a global phenomenon, a vast cyber neighborhood where friends meet to share photos, news and gossip. But when those relationships sour, another phenomenon often occurs – unfriending.

In what may be the first comprehensive study of its kind, a University of Colorado Denver Business School student has revealed the top reasons for Facebook unfriending, who is unfriended and how they react to being unfriended.

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Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., president of the University of Scranton, has been selected as the 23rd president of Marquette University. He will assume his duties in summer 2011, succeeding Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., who announced in March that he would retire next year after 15 years as Marquette president.

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This week ABC News announced an addition to the ABC News on Campus program, now in its third year, with Howard University joining as a college bureau. The program is a partnership with top journalism schools designed to educate and mentor talented college students. In 2008, ABC News created the bureaus to help guide student journalists and provide opportunities for them to report on stories in their area. Each campus bureau is equipped with the latest digital newsgathering technology, including new DV cameras and laptop edit stations. The program also pairs student journalists with some of the network’s most seasoned producers. The students work on original stories, some of which are featured across ABC News platforms. Many of the student-generated stories can be viewed at: ABCNewsOnCampus.com.

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Responding to the widespread dissatisfaction with traditional college rankings and the growing demand for universities to refocus on undergraduate education and value, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni unveiled today its 2011 college evaluations on WhatWillTheyLearn.com, a day before the release of U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings.

The free website evaluates more than 700 colleges and universities based on their general education curricula: the core courses aimed at providing a strong foundation of knowledge. Mel Elfin, founding editor of USNWR’s college rankings, praised the website as “an invaluable and unique additional resource for parents” and The Wall Street Journal called its focus on education “admirable.”

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“Friday the 13th” has long been known as a day of bad luck to the superstitious, but at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, which was founded by “13 men with 13 dollars and 13 prayers,” it’s cause for celebration. To celebrate Colgate Day 2010, which is celebrated on every Friday the 13th, 13 members of the Colgate community, including President Jeffrey Herbst, were on hand to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City today.

Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst is surrounded by members of the Colgate community as he rings the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Colgate Day, which is every Friday the 13th.

2010 USC Annenberg Digital Future Study  Finds Strong Negative Reaction to Paying for Online Services

Millions of Americans use Twitter — just don’t ask any of them to pay for it. The annual study of the impact of the Internet on Americans by the Center for the Digital Future found that 49 percent of Internet users said they have used free micro-blogs such as Twitter.

But when asked if they would be willing to pay for Twitter, zero percent said yes.

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Vice President Joe Biden will speak at a special event to dedicate the University of South Carolina’s Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, the university announced. The ceremony will take place on Friday and a number of other dignitaries and elected officials, including Sen. Hollings and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, will be featured.

The Hollings library, which is connected to the Thomas Cooper Library by a glass-enclosed walkway on the main level, was completed in June. In addition to the S.C. Political Collections, the $18 million, 50,000-square-foot facility will house the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and Digital Collections.

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The University of Illinois announced that its 18th president will be Michael J. Hogan, pending formal approval by the Board of Trustees at its next meeting on May 20 in Chicago. Hogan would take office effective July 1.

New U of IL President Michael J. Hogan

Hogan, president of the University of Connecticut since September 2007, brings the experience of a four-decade career in public higher education that includes progressively senior administrative appointments at The Ohio State University and the University of Iowa before joining UConn.

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Seton Hill University wants to give students the best in technology and collaborative learning tools so they will be uniquely suited to whatever careers they choose.  As part of the university’s Griffin Technology Advantage program, every full-time, undergraduate and graduate student will receive an Apple iPad, starting in the Fall semester of 2010.

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The online university also adds a Combined BS/MBA option to its portfolio of business education offerings

Capella University (www.capella.edu), an accredited online university that has built its reputation by providing quality education for adults, announced two additions to its business education offerings. Capella has added a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) online degree program to its portfolio of doctoral business degrees, which also includes PhDs in Business, Organization and Management, and Information Technology. The new DBA features specializations in Business Intelligence, Global Operations and Supply Chain Management, and Strategy and Innovation.

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President Barack Obama will deliver the spring 2010 commencement address at the University of Michigan, President Mary Sue Coleman announced today. President Obama will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree.

“President Obama has captured the imagination and enthusiasm of many students with his inspiring words of hope and change. We are honored to welcome a leader of his distinction and look forward to his message,” Coleman said. “We could not be happier for the graduates who will celebrate their academic achievements with the president of the United States.”

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Alec Baldwin Drama Scholarship Fund Established to Help Students in Need

New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, a premiere institution for the performing, cinematic, and recording arts, has announced that alumnus and actor Alec Baldwin (Class of 1994) has donated $1 million for the establishment of the Alec Baldwin Drama Scholarship Fund.

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The Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, a legal program of the Santa Clara University School of Law, has been awarded a $300,000, two-year grant from the US Department of Justice to help victims of human trafficking, a little-known but persistent problem in the South Bay area.

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The Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, which is produced by the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate and published under the auspices of the American Real Estate Society with funding by the CoStar Group, has released its inaugural issue. The journal, which is the first of its kind in the United States, was created to encourage research in the burgeoning area of sustainable real estate.

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For the second year running, the Loyola Marymount University junior and managing editor of the Los Angeles Loyolan captured the top spot for humorous commentary in the Gold Circle Awards, a student journalism contest hosted each year by Columbia University.
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Dr. Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California since 1991, will retire in August 2010, he announced today. Sample is widely credited with bringing about an institutional rise at USC that is unparalleled in American higher education. (more…)

The University of San Diego added another accolade to its list of distinguished achievements last week by being named the 2009 Private University of the Year by the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

The Washington Center — an independent, nonprofit organization that provides students challenging opportunities to work and learn in Washington, D.C. for academic credit — presented USD with the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 19. (more…)