College Endowments Remain Flat; Department of Veterans Affairs Pushes to Help GI Recipients Graduate

College Presidents and Education Secretary Push for Gun Safety. College presidents from across the country joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, calling on Congress to push for “common sense” gun-reform legislation. Duncan praised President Obama for his efforts to curb gun violence and said in a speech. "No one has been immune to this epidemic of violence." [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

College Endowments Remain Flat. A new survey showed a continuation of declining support from state legislatures across the countries, but now colleges and universities have something new to worry about: their endowments haven’t grown quick enough, meaning they have to find new streams of revenue to continue at their current operations. These findings were included in the National Association of Colleges and Universities Business Offices-Commonfund survey. [Huffington Post]

Push to Help GI Recipients Graduate. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse and the Student Veterans of America to collect data on veteran students. Data is crucial as Congress enters budget talks that may include talk of cutting spending on veterans’ education. The number of veterans that have graduated using aid provided by the GI Bill, is largely unknown. [The New York Times]

Fire Displaces Students. One student is dead and 30 are displaced after an off-campus apartment complex burned down last month near the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. James “Jake” Hoffman, 21, was killed in the blaze, and the cause of the fire remains unknown. The fire is believed to have started in Hoffman’s apartment. [Daily Collegian]

James King is an Online Communications Intern with Campus Progress. You can follow him on Twitter at @jamesmuratking

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