Education
Lawsuit settlement breaks down between unvaccinated students and Louisiana medical school
Settlement negotiations appear to have broken down for three medical students who are suing a north Louisiana medical school over its COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The students asked a federal court in Monroe Tuesday to amend their complaint, lodging new allegations that the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) implemented new discriminatory policies that require […]
Legislative audit finds students at Northwest mistakenly overcharged for tuition
Hundreds of students at Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College were overcharged by more than $23,000 for tuition, according to a Louisiana legislative audit released Monday. The audit found that 188 students were undercharged by $3,760 for tuition and student fees, while 754 students were overcharged by $23,525 over the fall, spring and summer semesters in […]
Grambling State University has had at least one shooting per year over the last five years
Grambling, La. — In October, Grambling State University got attention for many of the wrong reasons. The North Louisiana campus was the site of two shootings that happened days apart from each other during the week of homecoming, traditionally one of the highlights of the school’s year. While two incidents of gun violence in one […]
Following Louisiana campus shootings, higher ed officials discuss additional safety measures
Higher education officials in Louisiana say they are exploring how to make college campuses safer following two recent shootings at Grambling State University. “Our challenge is: How do we ensure that our campuses are as safe as they possibly can be?” University of Louisiana system President Jim Henderson said during a hearing before the Louisiana […]
Louisiana higher ed officials concerned about lackluster sexual assault reporting
As Louisiana colleges continue to implement new state laws with stricter reporting requirements, higher education officials said that they were concerned about how few sexual assaults were reported last year. Between LSU, Southeastern State University, and UL Lafayette — the three biggest public universities in Louisiana with over 68,000 students enrolled between them — just […]
Marcus Jones named Northwestern State University’s first Black president
Marcus Jones, the university’s current interim president, will serve as the first Black president in Northwestern State University’s 137 year history. “I’m full of emotion because Northwestern has given so much to me,” Jones said to the Illuminator following his selection. The University of Louisiana system Board of Supervisors voted Monday to install Jones as […]
Northwestern State University’s gets a new president today
The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors will interview and select the next president of Northwestern State University Monday (Nov. 8). The new president is expected to start in January. The board will decide between the two finalists: Marcus Jones and Kim LeDuff. Whoever is chosen will be the first Black president in the […]
Louisiana colleges and universities reported very few cases of sexual assault last year
Between LSU, Southeastern State University, and UL Lafayette — the three biggest public universities in Louisiana with over 68,000 students enrolled between them — just 12 cases of sexual assault were reported in 2020. But experts and advocates say those numbers don’t reflect reality. The vast majority of sexual assaults on Louisiana college and university […]
Northwestern State is on track to have a historic ‘first’ as university president
Northwestern State University’s presidential search committee announced two finalists to become the university’s 20th president Tuesday afternoon. Either candidate would make history if they are given the job. Northwestern has never had a university president who isn’t a white man, but both of the candidates to be the school’s next leader are Black — and […]
What’s in—and out—of Biden’s $1.75 trillion social spending and climate bill
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s sprawling social spending and climate package has been slimmed down into a still-massive $1.75 trillion plan that he and top congressional Democrats are attempting to wrestle through after months of negotiations. Snipped from that proposal are a number of key priorities for Democrats, including an attempt to create the first […]
Biden pitches new $1.75 trillion spending blueprint to Dems that drops paid family leave
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is meeting with congressional Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday morning to pitch lawmakers on a new slimmed-down framework for what would be included in a massive social reform package, according to senior administration officials. The $1.75 trillion blueprint that Biden is presenting to Democrats includes a universal pre-K program for […]
U.S. attorney general defends FBI probe of threats against school board members
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland for more than four hours on Wednesday about a Justice Department investigation into threats made to local school board members in multiple states. Garland at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing declined to revoke a memo he wrote asking the FBI to meet with local law […]