Emma Whitford on Muck Rack

Emma Whitford

Verified
East Coast United States
As seen in: Inside Higher Ed, MSN, Forbes, The Daily Beast, Flipboard, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Times Higher Education, EIN News, NewsBreak, Our Community Now, RealClear Education and
Covering all things faculty for @insidehighered. More active on Bluesky. Email: emma.whitford@insidehighered dot com // Signal: @ emmawhitford.96
Back to Emma Whitford’s profile

Articles by Emma Whitford

Florida Board Approves Stuart Bell as UF’s Next President

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Prior to the vote, the incoming president, center, faced several questions from board members about his stance on DEI. The Florida Board of Governors voted Wednesday to make former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell the next president of the University of Florida, giving the flagship research university a permanent president after two years without one.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

After 51 Years at Bard and 6 Months of Scandal, Botstein Retires

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
During his 51 years as president, Botstein racked up a long list of accomplishments, but the final six months of his tenure have been marred by controversy over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

U of Tennessee to Pay $1.9 Million to Prof Fired Over Charlie Kirk Comments

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Former UT Knoxville professor Tamar Shirinian was fired in February, five months after she posted on Facebook that the “world is better off without [Kirk] in it.” The University of Tennessee System will pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a former professor who was fired for comments she made about the late conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, Knox News reported Monday. State officials must now approve the settlement.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

San José State Prof Sues Over ‘Gross Violation’ of Rights

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
San José State fired Kil in 2025 and she has contested the decision since. San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Contributor/Getty Images A week after an arbitrator ordered that she be reinstated, San José State University Professor Sang Hea Kil announced she is suing California State University “to vindicate the gross violation of her civil rights,” according to a news release. “I am relieved that this long, grueling ordeal has come to an end for me.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Regional Public Students Feel Belonging, but Also Financial Stress

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
About 37 percent of regional public students said they use AI every day. FatCamera/E+/Getty Images Nearly four in five students at regional public universities are concerned that a financial emergency will prevent them from continuing school, and more than half say they are “just getting by” financially, according to a new report from the nonprofit think tank Third Way.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Dear Colleague Letter Asks Colleges to End Affinity Housing

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
In addition to standard dorm living, many colleges offer thematic housing that gives students the opportunity to live, work and learn alongside peers with similar interests or identities. NoSystem images/E+/Getty Images The Trump administration is urging colleges and universities to end affinity and multicultural housing, calling the voluntary, minority student–focused living arrangements “neo-segregation” and claiming they violate the Fair Housing Act.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Meet the Externs: How Faculty Use Workplace Experience to Help Students

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
College graduates typically get their foot in the door through junior-level positions, but now “AI can eat that stuff for breakfast,” said Dan Hatch.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Some Kansas Faculty Uneasy Over ‘Vague’ DEI Definitions

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The board’s policy stops short of barring faculty members from teaching DEI-CRT content—for now. Wolterk/iStock/Getty Images The Kansas Board of Regents last week formally defined the terms “DEI” and “CRT,” paving the way for state-mandated curriculum changes that will eliminate gender-, race- and ethnicity-focused courses from general education requirements at public universities.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Whitman College Caps Tuition at 10% of Income

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
To calculate tuition, Whitman uses a family’s adjusted gross income from the student’s FAFSA. Wolfgang Kaehler/Avalon/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., announced Saturday that students will not pay more than 10 percent of their family’s annual income in tuition. Students whose families earn $100,000 or less will receive scholarships covering the full cost of tuition, which is $68,692 for the 2026–27 academic year.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Prof. Fired for Palestinian Activism Should Be Reinstated, Arbitrator Says

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The decision comes seven months after a Faculty Hearing Committee also determined that termination was not warranted. Sundry Photography/iStock/Getty Images An arbitrator ruled that Sang Hea Kil, a tenured San José State University professor who was fired in 2025 after participating in pro-Palestinian student protests, should be reinstated, the California Faculty Association announced Monday.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Can—and Should—Honor Codes Survive in the AI Age?

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The already-small number of colleges with full-fledged, student-enforced honor codes is dwindling. After a three-year pilot of proctored exams, Stanford University student, faculty and administrative leaders decided in April that the university will allow proctoring for all in-person tests starting in September. Princeton University faculty approved a similar plan a month later.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Universities Hiring Student Expression Specialists

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The new roles will consolidate free expression–related responsibilities—such as crafting speech policies, training faculty in de-escalation tactics and coordinating with law enforcement.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Canvas Hackers Target Dozens More Colleges

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
ShinyHunters may have accessed the Oracle PeopleSoft software suite at more than 100 organizations. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | SuperCubePL/iStock/Getty Images ShinyHunters, the cybercrime group behind last month’s Canvas hack, may have gained access to human resources and financial management software at dozens of colleges, Higher Ed Dive reported Monday.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

AAUP Readies for Bigger Political Fight

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
CHICAGO—In many ways, the American Association of University Professors’ biennial meeting felt like a political war room. While thunderstorms and high winds raged outside, the mission inside the Hyatt Centric Chicago was clear: Higher education is under attack, and the AAUP must move beyond defending faculty in the crosshairs and step up its offense through more effective organizing, greater political advocacy and stronger labor actions.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Cited Professors Say the Vanderbilt Report Misrepresents Their Work

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
A new report on the state of humanities scholarship made waves in higher ed circles when it was released Friday, and has since drawn criticism from professors across the humanities.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Professor Put on Leave for Assigning Case Study That Mentions Palestinians

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Officials at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago placed an art therapy professor on paid leave after a student complained that an assignment featuring a mock patient who “felt deeply affected by the violence against Palestinian civilians” violated the school’s discrimination policy.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Auburn Board Takes Full Curricular Control, Dissolves Faculty Senate

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The Auburn University Board of Trustees on Friday gave itself complete control over course offerings, curriculum, degree requirements and academic credentials while eliminating shared governance at the Alabama land-grant university. Faculty say they have serious concerns about the policies and a host of unanswered questions about what the changes will mean in practice.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

UW Investigates Animal Advocacy Student Group Amid Breeding Facility Raids

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
As of Wednesday afternoon, 1,635 of Ridglan Farms’ 2,150 beagles had been released to rescue organizations. MichaelSvoboda/Getty Images The University of Wisconsin at Madison is investigating whether the student group Animal Advocacy encouraged members to participate in an illegal raid of a puppy mill earlier this spring, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Ohio State Prof Accused of Tackling Journalist Should Be Fired, Committee Says

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Perez (in orange) says he does not consider his actions to be violent behavior and he acted in self-defense. An Ohio State University committee recommended the university fire Luke Perez, the professor who was accused of assaulting an independent journalist on campus in February, WBNS reported. Perez, an assistant professor in the Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, has been on leave since the incident and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

University Scraps Sexuality Textbook for Containing ‘Graphic Images’

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The University of Nebraska at Kearney will discontinue using a popular human sexuality textbook after a student complained the book exposed them to pornography. An internal investigation determined the textbook contains “graphic images,” particularly in a chapter about atypical sexual behavior, according to a report from the chancellor’s office that summarizes its investigation.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Half of Texas Tech Faculty Censored Their Courses Due to Race, Gender Rules

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
More than half of survey respondents are considering jobs at other universities. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | skynesher/E+/Getty Image Restrictions on race, gender and sexuality instruction introduced late last year at Texas Tech University led faculty to change or field requests to change content for 277 courses, according to a new survey first reported by The Texas Tribune.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Labor Watch: Harvard Grad Students End 40-Day Strike

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Harvard, MIT and Tulane (from left) all saw some union action last month. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | APCortizasJr, Nate Hovee/iStock/Getty Images | Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images The Harvard Graduate Students Union announced Monday that its 40-day strike has ended “with the close of the academic year,” though the union has still not reached a bargaining agreement with the university.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Hundreds of Math Professors Ask UC to Bring Back SAT/ACT Requirements

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The professors’ argument in the open letter rests largely on what they’ve experienced in the classroom.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Boston Mayor Withdraws From Harvard Law Commencement Amid Grad Student Strike

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Harvard graduate students have been on strike since April 21. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe/Getty Images Boston mayor Michelle Wu withdrew from speaking at a Harvard Law School commencement event Wednesday after learning that striking graduate student workers had plans to picket the event. Wu, who graduated from Harvard Law in 2012, was scheduled to speak at the law school’s Class Day, held the day before commencement.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

U of Texas Board Makes It Easier to Fire Faculty, Close Programs

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The rule revision also allows the president to eliminate individual faculty positions for “bona fide academic reasons.” Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman/Getty Images Faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin say new systemwide personnel policy changes could pave the way for politically motivated program closures and further disenfranchise faculty from decision-making related to their own departments.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Yale Faculty Say Academic Freedom Has Decreased. Some Fear Dismissal or Arrest.

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Seventy percent of faculty reported concerns about visa issues or deportation. A majority of Yale University faculty members say their academic freedom has decreased in recent years, and half fear losing their jobs for teaching about controversial topics, according to a survey released today.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

IU Biologist’s Lab Reopened, but His Research Is Set Back Months

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
During the shutdown, Innes joined federal inspectors to sort through and identify materials in his lab and determine whether the permits for them were up-to-date. Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post/Getty Images Indiana University Bloomington biology professor Roger Innes’s lab is back up and running nearly two weeks after federal officials ordered the university to lock it down.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Botstein Recording Reveals Views on Epstein and ‘Sloppy’ Investigation

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
A tranche of files released by the Department of Justice in January revealed that Bard College president Leon Botstein’s conversations with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein went beyond fundraising for the college. The two men had planned to purchase an expensive watch together and discussed Botstein visiting Epstein’s island. In response, the college opened a board investigation into Botstein’s ties to the financier, which wrapped late last month.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Harvard Will Cap A Grades

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The new cap will be “broadly advertised, including interpretive text on transcripts,” according to the policy. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe/Getty Images The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences on Tuesday wrapped up a vote to cap the number of A grades at 20 percent per course, plus or minus four A’s. The policy proposal, which faculty have deliberated over for months, passed in a 458-to-201 vote and will take effect in fall 2027.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Bard President Didn’t Opt to Retire—the Board Voted for It

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
One trustee called the decision to end Botstein’s tenure “the end of our college as we know it today.” Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | nancykennedy/iStock/Getty Images | Jemal Countess/Getty Images After an independent law firm completed its investigation into Bard College president Leon Botstein’s ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Botstein announced his retirement.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

UNC Board Rejects Hire of Women’s Studies Professor

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The board approved five other outside hires and 27 promotions during the meeting. DNY59/iStock/Getty Images The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted to reject the appointment of a women’s studies professor whose hire had been approved by faculty and administrators. The decision is the latest example of the UNC trustees using what is typically a rubber-stamp vote to deny the hire of a green-lighted faculty candidate.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

UNC Board Rejects Hire of Women and Gender Studies Professor

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The board approved five other outside hires and 27 promotions during the meeting. DNY59/iStock/Getty Images The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted to reject the appointment of a women’s studies professor whose hire had been approved by faculty and administrators. The decision is the latest example of the UNC trustees using what is typically a rubber-stamp vote to deny the hire of a green-lighted faculty candidate.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Princeton Introduces Proctoring, Changing Century-Old Honor Code

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Princeton University’s faculty voted this week to proctor all in-person exams, fundamentally altering a 133-year-old honor system that has relied on students to monitor for and report cheating. But it was students, not just faculty, who pushed for the change. Students have found it increasingly difficult to identify cheating during in-class exams and fear teasing, doxing and ostracization by their peers for reporting suspected cheating to the Honor Committee.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

DOJ Says Yale Medical School Violated Race-Based Admissions Ban

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Yale received nearly $680 million from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2025. UCG/Contributor/Getty Images The Justice Department on Thursday accused the Yale School of Medicine of circumventing the Supreme Court ban on race in admissions by using racial proxies to select applicants. The finding is the result of a yearlong investigation into the medical school’s admissions policies and practices, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a news release.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Rutgers Faculty Split Over Decision to Disinvite Commencement Speaker

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
The Rutgers University Senate formally censured School of Engineering dean Alberto Cuitiño on Tuesday, 12 days after he rescinded the invitation for Arcellx CEO Rami Elghandour to speak at the school’s upcoming commencement ceremony. The Senate’s resolution criticized Cuitiño’s handling of the situation as “one-sided, opaque, and harmful” to the university.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Court Rules Texas State Must Reinstate Prof Fired for Israel-Palestine Talk

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Texas State University fired Idris Robinson for the talk he gave on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a year prior. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman/Getty Images A federal court judge ruled Monday that Idris Robinson—a philosophy professor at Texas State University who was fired for an unaffiliated, out-of-state talk he gave about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a year prior—must be reinstated with pay, Daily Nous reported.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Even as AI Use Spreads, Graduates Maintain Their Degree Was Worth It

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Alumni felt positively about the professors they had in college; 81 percent agreed that they had a professor who made them excited about learning. Despite growing fears about how artificial intelligence will disrupt the job market, American college and university alumni say that earning a college degree is still as important as it was 20 years ago, according to a new poll released today.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Humanities Chairs ‘Pessimistic’ About Their Departments’ Future

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
One third of chairs said that parents drove antihumanities sentiments, according to the report. Caiaimage/Chris Ryan/iStock/Getty Images Plus Humanities chairs—anxious about increasing political interference, declining enrollments and students’ skepticism toward the value of humanities degrees—are largely pessimistic about the future of their departments, according to a new report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

While the Texas Tech Board Met, Students Attended a Funeral

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
ODEE Friðriksson, a fine arts Ph.D. student at Texas Tech, wrapped the Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue in black as part of an art piece called "Death of Academic Freedom." Two black draft horses pulled a hearse across the Texas Tech University campus Thursday, driven by a solemn-faced coachman dressed in black. The hearse carried no coffin or body, just books.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Former Northwestern President Withdraws as Georgetown Law Grad Speaker

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
David Cole, former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and a professor of law and public policy at Georgetown Law, will speak instead. Former Northwestern University president Morton Schapiro withdrew from his agreement to speak at the Georgetown University Law Center commencement, the Georgetown Voice reported. Interim dean Joshua Teitelbaum shared the news with students Wednesday.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

How a Professor Turned His Firing Into a Nationwide Fight for Academic Freedom

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
NEW YORK, N.Y.—By six o’clock on Monday, April 27, the City University of New York Graduate Center’s aptly named Skylight Room was humming with dozens of graduate students, professors and staff eager to hear from Tom Alter, a former Texas State University history professor who was fired in September after speaking at an online socialism conference. Some wore union swag. Several wore Palestinian keffiyehs.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

UW System Will Give Raises to Faculty in ‘High-Demand’ Fields

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
More than two-thirds—68 percent—of faculty in the UW system earned less than the median salary of their peers in recent years. Education Images/Contributor via Getty Images The University of Wisconsin system will give more than 2,300 faculty in high-demand fields a pay raise this summer, The Cap Times reported.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Michigan Professor’s Praise for Pro-Palestinian Protesters Sparks Furor

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Derek Peterson spoke as chair of the Faculty Senate—a commencement speaker spot that chairs have filled since 2014, he said.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Botstein To Retire After Investigation Finds He ‘Minimized’ Ties to Epstein

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Leon Botstein has been president of Bard College since 1975. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | nancykennedy/iStock/Getty Images | Jemal Countess/Getty Images Leon Botstein, who has served as president of Bard College in New York since 1975, will retire at the end of June, he announced Friday in a letter to students, faculty and staff.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Labor Watch: Loyola, UC Workers to Strike While Harvard Fights Continue

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
It’s May Day and faculty, staff and graduate student workers across the sector are turning out in support of their unions. Here’s just a taste of what higher ed unions have planned for International Workers’ Day: Non-tenure-track faculty with Tulane Workers United will hold a press conference to provide an update on contract negotiations before joining striking nurses and immigration activists on a march to New Orleans city hall.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

4 in 10 Students Say AI Will Influence Their Career Choice

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Asked how they feel about AI’s impact on their future career, half of student respondents answered, “Uncertain.” Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock/Getty Images | ruizluquepaz/E+/Getty Images Nearly half—42 percent—of college-eligible students say that artificial intelligence will influence which career they pursue, and 10 percent report that they have already changed their planned major due to concerns about AI, according to a report released Tuesday.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Faculty Concerned About ASU’s ‘Frankensteinian’ AI Course Builder

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Arizona State University soft launched a web app earlier this month that allows anyone, for $5 per month, to create an apparently unlimited number of customized “learning modules” using artificial intelligence. The AI chatbot, called Atom, uses online instructional materials from ASU professors to create a course that’s tailored to the goals, interests and skill level of the user.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Judge Grants Stay in EEOC v. Penn Case on Jewish Employees

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
In his memorandum, Judge Gerald Pappert wrote that “public interest favors a stay.” A district court judge issued a stay Monday in the ongoing legal battle between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the University of Pennsylvania, suspending an earlier ruling that compelled Penn to hand over the names of employees who are members of on-campus Jewish groups to the commission.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Harvard Grad Student Workers Go On Strike

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
Harvard’s graduate student union is seeking annual raises of 5 percent or equivalent to the rate of inflation, whichever is higher. Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images After 14 months of bargaining, more than 4,000 Harvard University graduate students went on strike last week, The Christian Science Monitor reported.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Texas Politicians Are Taking Curricular Control. Where Is the Accreditor?

|
By Emma Whitford Verified
| Inside Higher Ed Verified
In recent months, two of the biggest Texas public university systems—Texas A&M and Texas Tech Universities—passed comprehensive restrictions on how faculty can teach about gender, sexuality and race. Faculty at both institutions, as well as free speech advocates nationwide, have decried the new policies as gross violations of academic freedom.
Open in Who Shared View Duplicates (2) Issue with article?
Show More
 •  Privacy  •  Terms  •  Security and Legal  •   •   •   • 

© 2026 Muck Rack

SOC 2® Certified