Harvard University's endowment increased by 21.4 percent to $32 billion during fiscal year 2011, according to a university press release. Although the endowment stands below its $36.9 billion peak prior to the financial crisis, its growth rate doubled from 11 percent the previous year, The Harvard Crimson reported. While the gains exceeded goals established by the Harvard Management Company which oversees the university's endowment remain 1.3 percent below the returns of the S&P 500 Index, which measures average investment gains across the country. The return rate likely remained low because Harvard prioritizes stable long-term investments over short-term gains, HMC president and CEO Jane Mendillo said in an interview with The Crimson. The annual report only tracks investments through June 30, 2011, and does not include the recent downturn in investments caused by the European debt crisis. The endowment, however, remains "well positioned to support Harvard's mission," the report said. As HMC shifts more of the university's portfolio from external firms to internal management, it plans to pursue additional investment opportunities in China and other foreign countries, The Crimson reported.
Northwestern University will release approximately 500 emails exchanged between journalism students and former Medill Innocence Project head David Protess to prosecutors involved in the appeal case of convicted murderer Anthony McKinney, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The decision followed Judge Diane Gordon Cannon's ruling that the students who examined the possibility of McKinney's innocence as part of the law school's Center on Wrongful Convictions acted "as investigators in a criminal procedure" and therefore were obligated to release the emails. Northwestern has decided not to appeal the decision, though Protess said in an email obtained by the Sun-Times that the school would have won. Prosecutors alleged that the students used questionable methods to gather their information including paying for interviews, the Sun-Times reported.
United States President Barack Obama announced Friday that he will set aside key provisions of former president George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law, including a steep penalty for schools whose students are not proficient in math and reading by 2014, The New York Times reported. Obama emphasized that the revisions, intended to provide states with more flexibility, will not allow them to lower their standards. Instead, states that design stricter oversight systems for their schools and revamp their educator evaluation systems will be able to apply for exemption from various NCLB provisions. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the revision may bring significant relief to struggling schools and reduce the need to "teach to the test," The Times reported.
