Stanford University submitted a proposal to city officials to construct a satellite campus in New York City, The Stanford Daily reported. The competition to build a science and technology center, hosted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, drew 18 proposals, including plans from Columbia University, Cornell University, Purdue University, the Abo Akademi University in Finland and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. If selected, Stanford's satellite campus would include graduate education and applied sciences research, and would be located on Roosevelt Island in the East River. Construction would commence in 2013, and classes would begin in 2015, The Daily.reported.
A new bill that would prohibit community colleges in Florida from awarding tenure to faculty members received its first hearing in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday, Inside Higher Ed reported. The K-20 Competitiveness subcommittee, which proposed the bill on March 25, did not consult faculty from community colleges that would be affected by the legislation before scheduling the hearing. Although several Democratic legislators said they oppose the bill, there may be sufficient Republican support for the legislation to pass, Ed Mitchell, executive director of the statewide faculty union United Faculty of Florida, said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. The bill represents an increased willingness among legislators to eliminate job security for Florida teachers, Inside Higher Ed reported. The state effectively eliminated tenure for elementary and secondary school teachers earlier this month.
Honduran police forces used water cannons and tear gas to break up a group of teachers, students and health care workers protesting the exile of former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday, The Boston Globe reported. The protestors demanded that Zelaya who was removed from power in a 2009 coup and exiled to the Dominican Republic be allowed to return to power. The teachers also protested a six-month delay in salary payments and a proposal to give local communities more control over the education system, The Globe reported. At a recent press conference, current Honduran President Porfirio Lobo accused the protesters of attempting to "destabilize" the government and undermine the country's attempt to be reincorporated into the Organization of American States, The Globe reported. The National Front of Popular Resistance, a group of Zeyala supporters, called for a strike beginning Wednesday. The group criticized Lobo for attempting to impose an economic system that exclusively advantages the oligarchy and large companies, The Globe reported.
