Fifteen law schools will face legal charges for misrepresenting their post-graduation employment figures to applicants, Inside Higher Ed reported. The prosecution which has not yet filed formal charges alleged that law schools have significantly inflated their reported employment rates by including part-time employment, employment in temporary positions and employment in jobs not requiring a JD in their statistics. The pending charges signal an ongoing attempt to highlight the difficult job market faced by young lawyers, according to Inside Higher Ed. Although law schools have become more transparent regarding employment data, such a shift has highlighted previous misleading reports, attorney David Anziska said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. Executive Director of the Association of American Law Schools Susan Prager expressed concern that the recent allegations rely on the false assumption that law school graduates must be employed full-time in the legal field in order to be considered successful, Inside Higher Ed reported.
A new program at Brown University will allow doctoral candidates to pursue a master's degree in a secondary discipline while completing their PhD, The Brown Daily Herald reported. The new initiative, known as "Open Graduate Programs: Graduate Education Uniquely Brown," will begin next fall and aims to broaden students' knowledge base in order to prepare them for a wide range of careers. The graduate school will fund students' fifth year of study while a $2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will fund the sixth year. Brown plans to admit 14 students into the program next fall and aims to eventually enable 48 PhD candidates to pursue secondary master's degrees at one time, The Daily Herald reported.
The University of Michigan will spend $50 million over the next five years to combat poverty, climate change and other global problems as part of its 200th birthday celebration, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The university amassed funding for the program known as the Third Century Initiative following a decade of cost-saving measures, Michigan Provost Philip Hanlon said in an interview with The Chronicle. Half of the money for the initiative will come from the university's tuition, fees and state dollars, while the other half will come from returns on investments, according to The Chronicle. The university plans to split the funds between student activities such as undergraduate research, study abroad opportunities, faculty research and teaching projects. Michigan State Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, said the University of Michigan should use the money allocated for the initiative to fund more practical programs given the tough financial situation the state has faced in recent years, The Chronicle reported.
