Yale University President Richard C. Levin announced that he will step down at the end of this academic year after 20 years of leadership, The New York Times reported Thursday. Levin is the longest-serving sitting president in the Ivy League and among the longest-serving in Yale's history. While at the helm, Levin improved academic facilities, dedicating more space for scientific research and establishing a new business school campus. Levin is also credited with improving Yale's relations with both the faculty and the city of New Haven, Conn. Yale will soon begin a search for a successor, who will begin his or her next summer.
Over 100 students at Harvard University are under investigation for potential involvement in a cheating scandal that allegedly occurred last spring, according to The New York Times. College officials say that approximately 125 students may have shared answers and plagiarized on a take-home final examination despite instruction to work independently. In an attempt to protect the anonymity of accused students, Harvard administrators would not reveal the class or department under investigation. However, The Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper, reported that it was an introductory government class. Suspected students have been informed and will provide their personal testimonies during a series of investigative hearings. If found guilty, students could be suspended from the university for a year. In response to this incident, Harvard plans to increase attempts to reiterate the importance of academic integrity.
A survey of the California Community Colleges system found that the state's two-year institutions are struggling in the wake of budget cuts amounting to over $809 million over the past three years, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Of the 78 colleges out of the system's 116 that responded, 70.5 percent reported that enrollment had dropped since the 2011-12 academic year, and 79.5 percent indicated that their students were placed on waiting lists for classes this fall. Student services have been minimized or eliminated at 68 percent of responding colleges. California community colleges face a $338-million cut in January 2013 if voters reject the authorization of temporary tax increases during the general election this November.
