University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau sparked significant criticism for a campus-wide e-mail in which he connected last weekend's shooting in Tucson, Ariz. which left six individuals dead and 14 wounded in a shopping mall with Congress' failure to pass the Dream Act, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The bill, which was rejected in December, would have allowed college students who are undocumented immigrants to gain legal residency. In the Monday e-mail, Birgeneau wrote that unfair immigration laws and "a climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated" leads to incidents like the Tucson shooting, which critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. He also said that it is "not a coincidence" that the shooting took place in a state that has discriminated against undocumented individuals. While several journalists and academics have attacked Birgeneau's e-mail, others have defended his right to free speech, according to The Chronicle.
Yale University reached a $1 million settlement with the Industrial Enterprises of America after IEAM's former Chief Executive Officer John Mazzuto allegedly embezzled $60 million from the company and used $1.7 million of the embezzled funds to make illegal donations to his alma mater, the Yale Daily News reported Thursday. In a joint statement by Yale and IEAM, the two institutions stated that Yale was not at fault since it was unaware of the source of the donated funds at the time, the Daily News reported. The university nevertheless decided to settle in court, citing "legal uncertainty and ethical considerations" after IEAM threatened to sue, according to an e-mail sent from Yale's general counsel Dorothy Robinson to the Daily News. Mazzuto is currently imprisoned and awaiting trial on a 57-count indictment. The trial will begin in March, according to the Daily News.
A recent survey by the United States Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general found that over half of American universities studied do not have written procedures to define and prevent financial conflicts in institutional research, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Wednesday. The survey, which investigated 250 National Institute of Health grantee universities, said that conflicts arise when an institution's financial interests or those of its administrators "pose risks of undue influence on decisions involving the institution's research." The inspector general recommended that the NIH implement standardized rules regarding institutional financial conflicts and encouraged universities to formulate their own regulations until universal rules are adopted. The NIH has currently declined to take such action, according to The Chronicle.
