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UCLA names new chancellor as campus is still reeling from protests over Israel-Hamas war

Dr. Julio Frenk, the next chancellor of UCLA, listens to questions at a news conference, June 12, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Dr. Julio Frenk, the next chancellor of UCLA, listens to questions at a news conference, June 12, 2024, in Los Angeles.

The president of the University of Miami was chosen Wednesday to become the next chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, where the retiring incumbent leaves a campus roiled by protests over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

Dr. Julio Frenk, a Mexico City-born global public health researcher, was selected by regents of the University of California system at a meeting on the UCLA campus, where there were a swarm of security officers.

Frenk will succeed Gene Block, who has been chancellor for 17 years and announced his planned retirement long before UCLA became a national flashpoint for U.S. campus protests. This spring, pro-Palestinian encampments were built and cleared by police with many arrests, and again this week, there were more arrests.

Frenk has led the 17,000-student University of Miami since 2015 and previously served as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and as Mexico's national health secretary, among other positions.

In a brief press conference, Frenk said he was approaching the appointment with excitement and humility.

"The first thing I plan to do is listen very carefully," Frenk said. "This is a complex organization. It is, as I mentioned, a really consequential moment in the history of higher education."

Frenk did not comment on specific protests at UCLA this spring or the current administration's response, which initially tolerated an encampment but ultimately used police to clear it and keep new camps from forming.

During public comment in the regents meeting, speakers criticized UC administrators, alleged police brutality, complained of a lack of transparency in UC endowments and called for divestment from companies with ties to Israel or in weapons manufacturing.

Speakers also talked about experiencing antisemitism on campus and called for an increased law enforcement response to protesters.

Later, about 200 people rallied, including members of an academic student workers union and the Faculty for Justice for Palestine group as well as students from other UC campuses. Participants held signs calling for charges to be dropped against protesters who have been arrested.

Block departs UCLA on July 31. Darnell Hunt, executive vice president and provost, will serve as interim chancellor until Frenk becomes UCLA's seventh chancellor on January 1, 2025.

In previous roles, Frenk was founding director of Mexico's National Institute of Public Health, held positions at the World Health Organization and the nonprofit Mexican Health Foundation, and was a senior fellow with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's global health program.

Frenk received his medical degree from the National University of Mexico in 1979. He then attended the University of Michigan, where he earned master's degrees in public health and sociology, and a joint doctorate in medical care organization and sociology.

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Fewer students disclose race in applications to top colleges 

FILE - An unidentified person walks past Harvard yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 7, 2023
FILE - An unidentified person walks past Harvard yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 7, 2023

FAfter the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions last year, fewer students are disclosing their race or ethnicity in applications to top colleges.

Writing in USA Today, Zachary Schermele notes that the data is preliminary, but it could signal a change in the way students are approaching college applications. (October 2024)

Overall college enrollment is up, first-year enrollment down 

FILE - A student delivers packages to the dormitory at DePaul University in Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
FILE - A student delivers packages to the dormitory at DePaul University in Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.

For the second year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, college enrollment has climbed in the United States.

But the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center noticed a substantial drop in the number of freshmen, which could be troubling for future enrollment, according to a report in Forbes. (October 2024)

South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool

South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool
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The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their curricula. Experts say this step is not only innovative but also helps level the playing field among students. Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.

International students may be able to get jobs at school 

FILE - Northeastern University graduate student Shabbir Hussain, of Indore, India, left, views a computer screen at the entrance to the Snell Library on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on May 24, 2016.
FILE - Northeastern University graduate student Shabbir Hussain, of Indore, India, left, views a computer screen at the entrance to the Snell Library on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on May 24, 2016.

International students studying in the United States may be able to work on campus.

Jobs can include working in libraries, labs, food service and dormitories – but students will have to research the rules before applying for jobs, according to U.S. News & World Report. (September 2024)

Report says college rankings have the potential to mislead

FILE - Students walk at Main Quadrangle on the University of Chicago campus, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago.
FILE - Students walk at Main Quadrangle on the University of Chicago campus, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago.

Each year, prominent lists of college and university rankings are compiled and released to the public, but a report conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago says those rankings have the potential to mislead.

Writing in Forbes, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier says changing methodologies can distort results, and profit motives can create doubt. He argues that rankings should be replaced by an objective rating system. (September 2024)

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