Watching the Ivies: 5/13
BROWN: Brown University announced a 60 percent yield for the Class of 2017, an increase of nearly five percent from last year’s yield of 55.8 percent, according to the Brown Daily Herald. The yield rate is higher than the University’s anticipated rate of about 57 percent. The Admission Office expects to admit “a handful” of students from the waitlist.
COLUMBIA: A football player at Columbia University was charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime last Tuesday, according to the Columbia Spectator. The student, Chad Washington, allegedly heckled an Asian student with racial slurs and shoved him against a wall. Washington and his teammates were also criticized for posting “racist and homophobic tweets” online. Columbia administrators and student leaders released statements condemning the language used in the Twitter posts.
CORNELL: Cornell University’s current faculty renewal initiative aims to replace half of the University’s faculty in the next 10 years, as over half of current faculty members over age 55 prepare to retire, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. The University, currently facing the most substantial wave of faculty retirements in its history, intends to hire about 67 new faculty members each year in the next decade. Cornell will finance this initiative through donations and by allocating resources for faculty salary.
HARVARD: Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences last Tuesday approved a restructuring of reading and exam periods to be implemented in Fall 2014, according to The Crimson. Harvard’s reading period will be shortened to six or seven days from its current length of eight. The proposal also addressed the type of assignments that faculty will be permitted to assign during reading period. The changes are intended to “spread out due dates, and give students time to do their work,” Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay Harris said in an email.
PRINCETON: Princeton University announced a 2 percent increase in its yield from 66.7 to 68.7 percent for the Class of 2017, according to the Daily Princetonian. This is the second year since Princeton reinstated its early admission program — which for the class of 2016 spurred a 10 percent yield increase — that the college has seen an increase in its yield. Thirty-five of the 1,327 enrolled students will defer matriculation for a year and enter the Bridge Year Program.
UPENN: The University of Pennsylvania recently announced its lineup of speakers for this year’s commencement ceremonies, as the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will speak at the commencement ceremony on May 13. Roy Vagelos, retired chair and CEO of Merck & Co, Inc. will speak at the ceremony for the College of Arts & Sciences, while former First Lady Laura Bush will speak at the ceremony for the School of Nursing.
YALE: Yale College’s senior male a cappella group the Whiffenpoofs appeared on the season finale of “Glee” last Thursday, according to the Yale Daily News. The group portrayed the prep school show choir the Waffletoots, who competed against the New Directions at the regional championship on the show. The Whiffenpoofs have also recently appeared on other shows including “The West Wing” and “Saturday Night Live.”