Morrison Hosts Briefing, Meets Lawmakers
BU IN DC
Gerald Keusch and Nahid Bhadelia of the School of Medicine participated in a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop between June 13 and 15 on clinical trials during the Ebola outbreak. Keusch is co-chair of a National Academies committee reviewing the topic.
Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs Christine McGuire attended a Higher Education Loan Coalition meeting and discussed student aid policy with Congressional offices on June 13 and 14.
MORRISON HOSTS BRIEFING, MEETS LAWMAKERS
On Thursday, Provost Jean Morrison hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on internet insecurity in collaboration with the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus. The panel, featuring BU Computer Science Associate Professor Sharon Goldberg, Joseph Hall of the Center for Democracy & Technology, and Joseph Calandrino of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation, discussed how Congress could address personal data breaches on the internet. More than 75 Congressional and federal agency staff attended the event.
Prior to the briefing, Morrison and Goldberg met with Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) to discuss BU’s cybersecurity research and educational programs. Morrison later met with officials at the National Science Foundation and the Association for Women in Science.
COMMITTEES PROPOSE HUMANITIES FUNDING BOOST
Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees approved spending bills this week that would increase the budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for fiscal year (FY) 2017. The House bill proposes a $149.8 million budget for the agency, a $1.9 million increase over the current year, while the Senate measure proposes a more modest budget of $148 million. Both measures would boost NEH Federal/State Partnerships and The Common Good initiative, but slightly cut research and education. The two chambers will need to negotiate a compromise funding level before the bill becomes law, and a final determination of the NEH budget may still be months away.
ED DEPT. PROPOSES RULES FOR DEFRAUDED STUDENTS
The U.S. Department of Education released a draft proposal for new debt forgiveness regulations for federal loan borrowers who are defrauded by their college. The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile closings of for-profit institutions that left students with high debt levels and no clear recourse, but several parts of the proposal apply to nonprofit and for-profit institutions alike. The regulations would streamline procedures for defrauded students to receive debt relief and prohibit the use of mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent students from taking their institution to court, among other changes. The Department is accepting comments on its proposal through August 1.