What a bunch of stubborn clowns - talk to each other, collaborate and make Valpo shine! Quit pointing fingers!
This ^^^^^
Seems to be a direct copy-paste of the article on the school website. Wonder what the numbers were money wise if this is the "largest corporate sponsor in school history"
Ah, now we know what happened to AVP Angela V-R...
See Chronicle of Higher ed "Tracking Higher Ed's Dismantling of DEI" article (published yesterday 1/24)
For those without access to the Chronicle of Higher Ed, the Valparaiso U paragraph notes:
Valparaiso University
Summary of changes: Offices; jobs
Details: Valparaiso University integrated its Office of Multicultural Programs and diversity, equity, and inclusion offices into its Student Life division, and eliminated the position of assistant vice president for DEI.
The Trump Administration has paused all federal funded programs including federal financial assistance programs like the FAFSA and federal student aid. The program must submit a comprehensive review and no guarantee of funding returning. This will affect decisions of college attendance across the country.
There is no clarification that the clause claiming "dispersant directly to individuals" accounts for money sent to institutions first. Until clarification for this is released. I and many other college students remain in limbo as it were. The hope is that the individual "label" on FAFSA and student aid grants will prevent this from occurring, however, once again, until that clarification comes out. I will remain under the impression that student loans are on pause
The following is from CNN.
Student financial aid administrators are “still sorting through” whether the White House budget office order pausing federal grants and loans will impact student financial aid, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators told CNN on Tuesday.
“While the memo says the funding pause does not include assistance ‘provided directly to individuals,’ it does not clarify whether that includes money sent first to institutions, states, or organizations and then provided to students,” McCarthy said, noting that the NASFAA is also researching the impact on campus-based aid programs. Even though most Title IV funds – those dealing with federal student aid – pass through COD, or the Education Department’s central aid-distribution system, “they are ‘labeled’ for individual students and would hopefully not be impacted by the pause,” McCarthy said.
Yes, another year of financial aide confusion for prospectives. Unclear what aide/grant programs will exist going forward.
Also froze/cut the NIH, UDSA, EPA, and NSF etc grant processes and funding, which is too bad since a VU prof just last year was announced to be the first Valpo researcher to get an NIH grant as lead researcher. VU NIH and NSF folk probably got a portion of those funds disbursed this past Fall, but its up in the air if the rest would come thru in future semesters. Most universities and public school district are telling their people to spend any current gov funding ASAP in case it is pulled and it's unclear whether anything future will be reinstated.
I suspect it is part of the wider government efficiency and anti-higher ed strategy to push the non-rich and small institutions into extinction. The Trump-Musk oligarchy sees no good in small places like VU trying to muddle along.
Those receiving FAFSA student loans and those wishing to apply for FAFSA loans are not impacted by the OMB directive, as its language states. A review of federal agency activities is to be conducted and completed by February 10 that determines if certain disbursed funds violate recently issued executive orders, such as those areas italicized below. FAFSA student loans do not fall into this category.
"To the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders [recently issued by the President], including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal."
In response to questions today, the OMB states: the pause "is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the Presidents executive orders." Additionally, "any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause."
