This week in college admissions, grade inflation has increased at Harvard, Georgetown has named a new president, eight HBCUs receive major donations, and a university president is elected lieutenant governor of New Jersey.
According to a recent report, about 60% of the grades given in Harvard undergraduate classes are A’s. Twenty years ago, the number was less than 25%. Undergraduate dean Amanda Claybaugh, the author of the report, is encouraging faculty to try to rein in grade inflation by sharing grades and reviewing grade distributions.
Georgetown has named Eduardo Peñalver, the current president of Seattle University, as its 49th president. Peñalver will start at Georgetown in July 2026. He is a Rhodes Scholar, an alumnus of Cornell and Yale, and a former dean of Cornell Law School.
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has continued her pattern of charitable giving to HBCUs. She recently donated a total of $387 million to eight different colleges and universities, including Howard and Spelman. The latest round of gifts comes after Scott made a major donation to UNCF, the nation’s largest private scholarship provider to BIPOC students, in September.
A university president has been elected lieutenant governor in New Jersey. Dale Caldwell, a Democrat and running mate to governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, is the current president of Centenary University. He was the university’s first Black president, and will be the first Black man to serve as New Jersey’s lieutenant governor.
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