No details on the maneuverings, but I have it confirmed that current Provost and Academic VP of DSU, Dr Harry Williams, has been announced as DSU's next President. In my (always humble) opinion, the best choice available to them. Good luck, Dr Williams. I look forward to working with you in your new role.

... in my alter-ego secret identity as DSU faculty union chair, commenting on the loooooonnnnnggggg wait between the on-campus interviews for new Presidential candidates and action by the Board of Trustees . Thanks, Rachel.

... for rather obvious reasons is Delaware State University. But this one question has been niggling at me ever since the General Assembly completed its budget negotiations. Of the three state-supported institutions of higher education, DSU by far receives the smallest amount of support from the State: Del-Tech receives $30 million more and UD receives about $80 million more. So here's my question: Why did DSU--which receives the smallest allocation--take the largest budget hit? Check the numbers: Del-Tech got hit for 6%, UD took a 7% reduction, and DSU got clipped for more than 8%. Unfortunately, I think I know the answer. When you're Lonnie George, or there are literally UD alums falling all over each other in the Executive and Legislative branches, you get good protection. When you are the smaller, historically Black university that's had management problems and difficulty finding a new president, the State really doesn't have to pay attention. In fact, the State...

I don't often blog about DSU, given my position there, but this isn't really a post about the university, or even about the tragic events that took the life of Shalita Middleton in fall 2007. It's about the absence of outrage. The charges against Loyer Braden have been dismissed, not just because the Attorney General's office apparently failed to share exculpatory evidence with the defense, but also because a key witness recanted testimony tying Braden to the homicide. Here's the key paragraph from the WNJ story today : Braden’s murder trial was dismissed last week by a Superior Court judge who said prosecutors withheld key evidence that could have compromised the former DSU student’s right to a fair trial. The evidence was a witness’ statement to Dover police identifying someone other than Braden as the shooter. What's missing in this picture? How about somebody in State government, State politics, or even the News Journal calling for a serious investigation o...

Normally I try to avoid direct comment on DSU because of potential conflict of interest. But sometimes it gets to be too much. Nancy Willing has published a recycled list of half-truths and misleading statements about DSU (combined with some serious, true charges) that has been bumping around for at least two years. I provided a rebuttal in the comments section, to which I signed my name--unlike the anonymous individuals who continue to circulate this list without correcting the errors. There is much to be changed at DSU, but we won't do it with people who refuse to do the simple research to verify their information. Sorry, Nancy, I expected better.

Sessoms has accepted the Presidency of the University of the District of Columbia, effective 31 August 2008. No word from the DSU Board of Trustees yet on an interim successor.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I am--besides being a Libertarian and historian--something of a science geek. Last weekend, passing through the Phoenix AZ airport (the nation's "Friendliest airport" if you didn't know), I picked up the latest copy of Scientific American because I want to read the article on the direct of time's arrow (why do we perceive time as only moving forward, when in all equations it seems to work perfectly well either forward or backward). Actually, I wanted to read the summary , so that I could determine whether or not I'd actually be able to comprehend the article. I'm still working on it. But I always start with all the short (easily understandable) articles in the front of the magazine. It was there that I found this: In the heart of the Amazon River basin 1,500 years ago, tribes mixed soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark to boost their crop yields. Now scientists conclude that such burned, dea...

Today's Snooze J carries a front-page article on the Provost search at DSU , and the devastating report issued by the university's search firm about reactions of candidates asked to apply. The news isn't good. Yes, the "Steve Newton" quoted in the interview as President of the DSU Chapter of the AAUP is me. I don't normally do interviews about DSU, and you'll notice that I've never posted about it here. But the News Journal called me, at the behest of someone very senior in the university hierarchy whom I cannot name. I felt obligated to answer questions honestly. Let me be clear: DSU is a great institution with a great potential future. We are currently undergoing a period of uncertainty and transition. We'll come through it as we as a university community work through it. I'll continue to try to be a positive part of that process, but don't expect to see me in the newspaper like this again, and don't expect me to post on it here. ...