DREAMers Get Tuition Break in Massachusetts; College Presidents Concerned About Fiscal Showdown

Massachusetts To Give Tuition Breaks For Immigrants. Governor Deval Patrick has ordered state colleges and universities to allow young undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition once they obtain work permits from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Cairo Mendes of Marlborough, who could afford only to take two classes at Massachusetts Bay Community College this semester because of the out-of-state price she was paying said, “my life is about to get a lot better.” [Boston Globe]

University of Iowa President Struggles To Explain Sexual Harassment Charges Filed Against Athletics Associate Director. President Sally Mason apologized Friday for the school's handling of sexual harassment allegations against associate director of athletics student service Peter Gray. Noted for sexual harassment charges, pornography found on his computer, and inappropriate touching of student athletes and other coaches, Gray was rehired by the university in 2002, a move that President Mason failed to address in her apology. Although the university will not be discussing the disciplinary actions taken against Gray, he has already resigned and the university's internal auditors are currently leading investigations. [HuffPo]

University of Central Missouri Becomes Smoke-Free. Since its approval on Friday, a tobacco-free policy at the University of Central Missouri is on track to become effective in 2014. Besides cigarettes, the policy bans pipes, cigars, hookahs, water pipes and chewing tobacco on campus grounds, in campus buildings (including dorms), and on campus transportation. For the first six months of 2014, the school will enter an initiation period, during which campus leaders will distribute information about affordable tobacco cessation programs. Smoking will still be allowed in public outdoor spaces, such as in parking lots and during large public events. [Examiner]

Fiscal Cliff Threatens University Research Funding. If a deal is not worked out in Congress to stop the U.S. from going off the fiscal cliff, both public and private universities will lose billions of dollars in federal government research grants, and college presidents across the country are expressing their concern. James Barker, president of Clemson University in South Carolina said he was very worried about the situation and that the thought of going off the fiscal cliff "keeps him awake at night." The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a premier research institution, reported that 69 percent of its research expenditures were sponsored by the federal government. If Congress does not act cohesively, the country’s universities will be in deep trouble financially. [Huffington Post]

Aaron Brennan is a Communications Intern with Campus Progress

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