Higher Ed Round-up

Following a scandal at Harvard University where then Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds and FAS Dean Michael D. Smith broke Faculty privacy policy by authorizing secret searches of resident deans' email accounts, Harvard President Drew Faust commissioned a task force that developed a policy for single permanent electronic communications policy. According to the policy, any search must first be approved by the Office of General Counsel and has to include a timely notification for the user who is to be searched. The policy will also change the the chain of command by mandating a "legitimate institutional purpose" prior to a search. 

Dartmouth Cares, a mental health umbrella organization that seeks to connect student groups around campus and educate them on topics of suicide prevention and mental health, conducted a suicide prevention training session for students this past week.The program sought to improve students' communication skills, knowledge and awareness of suicide awareness signs. The training session, although not the first of its kind, is part of university wide efforts to generate campus discussion on mental health.

Jonathon Nelson, 1977 Brown University graduate and founder of the Providence Equity Firm is the transitive owner of the United States Investigation Services which is currently mixed up in a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit for “taking shortcuts” on at least 40 percent of its cases. The company handled the cases of Edward Snowden and Aaron Alexis, although those particular cases haven't been mentioned in the federal lawsuit. USIS, which was suspected of fraud in 2011, is now being accused of abandoning incomplete cases.

A new student group at Cornell University will meet for the first time in March 16 to address the issues of post-abortion distress. The support group which will meet on Sundays for seven weeks, is limited in size to create a safe and intimate space for women. The director of Cornell's Women Resource Center cited the lack of dialogue around the issue due to social and political stigma surrounding the topic of abortion. The support group will be tailored to the needs of the group and be run by Stephanie Haskins.

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