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Francie Diep

@franciediep.bsky.social

610 followers 93 following 99 posts

Senior reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education. I cover money and the chase for prestige, among other topics. Get in touch in one of the ways listed here: www.chronicle.com/author/francie-di… or message me on Signal at franciediep.40

Posts Replies Media

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Which is not to say the meeting itself hasn't been great. @maxkozlov.bsky.social did a stellar job organizing our panel on reporters' and PIOs' jobs when academics are more reluctant to talk on the record, with Alex Bates of the Ohio State U., @lquinnphd.bsky.social and @hayleysmith.bsky.social

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

At @oregonstate.edu for #SciWri26, but as a higher-ed reporter, here's the real highlight: A corner in the alumni center with president's reports, course catalogs, and yearbooks dating back to 1899!!

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

OK but also there's some very important cat news!! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti... Isn't it neat how wild cats often move so much like housecats do? See the video at the top of the story page. via @jetjocko.bsky.social

nationalgeographic.com

Meet the First New Cat Species Discovered in 100 Years

A small, spotted tiger cat from Bolivia may just be the beginning of a wave of new small cat species.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Maybe you've seen some of the big public moves the government has made lately, cracking down on colleges' foreign ties. Meanwhile, I learned, it hasn't been briefing colleges on threats the way it used to, even during the first Trump administration: www.chronicle.com/article/are-...

Are Foreign Ties Just the Latest Excuse to Punish Colleges?

Association leaders say the second Trump administration has been slow to update them on threats posed by overseas collaborations, but it’s unclear whether that’s been deliberate — or just one effect o...

Reposted by Francie Diep

Eric Kelderman @erickelderman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The rumors are true. @shenandoahkate.bsky.social and I are starting a newsletter! This is for decision makers -- department chair, associate director, or college president, etc. -- and we'll be break down how they manage the tough calls on campus. Sign up here: www.chronicle.com/newsletter/d...

Decision Points

Decision Points is a knowledge community for the next generation of higher-ed leaders. Delivered every Tuesday.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Speaking of records requests, don't miss my colleague @shenandoahkate.bsky.social's look inside how the original recipients of Compact 1.0 discussed the letter: www.chronicle.com/article/afte...

Asked to Sign Trump’s Compact, Universities Coordinated Behind the Scenes

Hundreds of pages of public records from the University of Virginia offer a glimpse of how institutional leaders talked with one another after the October government missive.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This is a very good, very interesting account of the social media/records request battle between the founder of the Classic Learning Test and the College Board. Congrats to @fairtest.bsky.social and @ryanequinn.bsky.social on an enviable kicker: www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi...

insidehighered.com

CLT Founder Escalates Social Media War on College Board

The Classic Learning Test’s CEO accused the SAT provider of being behind a Texas open records request, but didn’t provide proof. He’s objecting to releasing information and threatened retaliation.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I reported from a rally at Yale yesterday, urging the university to stop negotiating with Trump (www.chronicle.com/article/yale...). As it was designed to, the event provoked an interesting response from Yale, following protest rules newly enforced after the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus movement. 🧵⬇️

What’s Behind the Rule-Defying Campus Resistance Against a Yale Trump Deal

Students, faculty members, and alumni joined in an unauthorized demonstration.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Yale continues to be an interesting case study in anti-Trump deal resistance. I attended a demonstration today, deliberately planned to break Yale's protest rules, where students, faculty and alumni called for no deal and looser protest rules, among other demands: www.chronicle.com/article/yale...

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

So what exactly did it mean for the AAU and university presidents to have worked with the Trump administration on Compact 2.0? I learned some more details: www.chronicle.com/article/coll...

College Leaders Play Down Their Involvement in ‘Compact 2.0’

Their insistence that they didn’t help draft the letter points to big research universities’ tough balancing act in dealing with the federal government.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Want to learn more about how the Dept. of Ed is thinking about Compact 2.0? Here's a Q&A based on almost my entire conversation with the official I interviewed yesterday: www.chronicle.com/article/radi... #academicsky

‘Radical Reform’: A Trump Official Details the New Plan to Get Colleges to Change

Jonathan Pidluzny spoke to The Chronicle on the administration’s statement of priorities for higher ed, and why “silence would speak volumes.”

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I wrote about the 'Compact 2.0' that the government offered yesterday: www.chronicle.com/article/for-.... I got: • A Dept. of Ed official to talk about goals ("radical reform") • AAU's president to respond to reports that AAU collaborated with the Trump administration on this Hope you'll read!

For Higher Ed, Trump’s Compact 2.0 Is Either an Olive Branch or a Gloved Fist

The White House has promised there will be no direct penalties — or rewards — for making the statements asked for, but some are skeptical.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

It's been a year since Columbia signed its historic deal with the Trump administration. What's higher ed learned from its example? (For one thing, no one else signed anything as comprehensive or expensive.) By @erickelderman.bsky.social, Shea Vance and me: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The Long Shadow of Columbia’s Deal With Trump

A year later, enforcement is uneven and suspicions remain.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

What is going on with sociology?? Some say it's getting politicized, Florida banned it from gen ed... Get caught up with this interesting and thorough story by @stephaniemlee.bsky.social: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The War for Sociology

A contest to lead the American Sociological Association distilled the field’s many conflicts. One was foremost: Should scholars be activists?

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

My colleague @ngluckman.bsky.social and I wrote a profile of Jennifer Mnookin, the incoming president of Columbia University. Fairly or not, Columbia has become a chaotic poster child for everything wrong with higher ed. Can Mnookin repair the community, and how? www.chronicle.com/article/can-...

Can Jennifer Mnookin Heal Columbia?

One of higher ed’s most skilled negotiators arrives at one of its most fractured campuses.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I'm in both a neighborhood moms WhatsApp group and an extensive email chain subject-lined something along the lines of "Re: Rat activity in the alley" and I just want to know when I became such a middle-aged Northwest D.C. person

Reposted by Francie Diep

Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 22/04/2026

This is fascinating because the governor is a Democrat and the legislature is strongly Republican.

Reposted by Francie Diep

Eric Kelderman @erickelderman.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

🍿 www.chronicle.com/article/an-i...

An ‘Inappropriate Relationship’ Sank Ohio State’s Leader. A New Report Spills the Details.

Ted Carter pushed over a dozen employees to try to assist in the business ventures of a personal associate, Krisanthe Vlachos.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Charles Koch's donor network, a foundation that's also funded the ADL and World Central Kitchen, a former union lawyer... these are among the donors I found who give to efforts to teach college students to dialogue better: www.chronicle.com/article/meet...

Meet the Donors Funding the Civil-Dialogue Boom at Colleges

They represent a range of political leanings and have distinct motivations.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

The spokesperson for NYU's Law School emailed me last month because he had written a novel that's a sendup of elite law schools. Sometimes the universe delivers gifts packaged just for you. Here's my mini-review and Q&A with the author: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The Spokesperson for NYU Law Wrote a Novel Skewering Law Schools

He doesn’t have any hostility toward law-school rankings, the author said, nor toward academe.

Reposted by Francie Diep

Stephanie M. Lee @stephaniemlee.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

can you teach something at Texas A&M? just follow this flowchart. www.chronicle.com/article/insi... via @jasperjsmith.bsky.social and @mzahneis.bsky.social

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Is there a conservative hiring boom right now in higher ed? And how might it shape the future of the culture of academia? I took a look at the data (such as it is) and talked with more than a dozen people about what they're seeing: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The Strange New Job Market for Conservative Scholars

Right-leaning academics are in demand. Does that amount to intellectual diversity?

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

I've been clearing my closet of a clothes-moth infestation, an extremely heebie jeebies-inducing activity. But tonight, as I was unrolling scarves, looking for eggs and larva (ughhgh), I had the idea that I was looking for "wormsign" and it made me feel marginally better

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

U. of Alabama yesterday suspended two student magazines, one about fashion and one about Black culture, suggesting that they're discriminatory. I got more details about the suspensions, plus some interesting expert quotes: www.chronicle.com/article/a-un...

A University Shuts Down 2 Campus Magazines Because They Might Look Like DEI

The suspensions are the latest in cuts to programs that would seem to support minority students. Experts say the moves violate the First Amendment.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Hey, did you know @chronicle.com started a Compact Live Updates page today? www.chronicle.com/article/comp... That said, @cantb.bsky.social's summary below is pretty good. (Just missing USC, also out.)

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Aaand more about the meeting today with compact recipients who haven't responded yet + others:

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

White House officials are meeting this afternoon with representatives from the five remaining original recipients of the higher-ed compact that have not yet responded: www.insidehighered.com/news/governm... Nice scoop by @knottkatherine.bsky.social for Inside Higher Ed.

insidehighered.com

White House to Meet With Universities Regarding Compact

The scheduled meeting follows increasingly forceful pushback to the wide-ranging proposal.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

This is an eye-opening Q&A about being a college president today. We all know it's a tough job. Still, I was surprised by depths of some of the challenges these two faced: www.chronicle.com/article/two-...

‘Two People Are in Jail Because of Threats Against Me’

Jonathan Holloway and Ana Mari Cauce on the physical and psychological toll of leading a university in 2025.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

In the last two days, Brown, Penn, and USC have joined MIT in declining the Trump administration's compact for higher education. You can see all of @chronicle.com's compact updates here: www.chronicle.com/package/trum...

The Trump Compact

Colleges weigh the government’s latest proposal, which promises an edge in federal funding.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

My latest with @mzahneis.bsky.social: Dartmouth is close to saying "no" to the current compact, I learned. The decision comes as gov. officials are circulating that the compact is open to all, in what higher-ed advocates call a test of the sector's collective will: www.chronicle.com/article/dart...

Dartmouth’s President Balks at Trump Compact, Sources Say, as Feds Expand Offer to ‘Any Institution’

Sian Leah Beilock has told faculty members she won’t sign the document as written. Meanwhile, the White House’s broader proposal has shifted discussion about the deal.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Unrelated to breaking news: I appreciate that of my recent stories, I've gotten the most feedback on this one. All the emails are from alumni of various nerd camps. I should say that not all CTY alumni who have messaged me support the test-based admissions criterion, but all loved the experience.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Breaking: Trump's higher-ed compact is open to all, I confirmed for @chronicle.com: www.chronicle.com/blogs/the-tr... “We welcome any institution that wants to adopt these principles to sign the compact,” a source told me.

Trump Welcomes ‘Any Institution’ to Sign Onto Compact Outlining His Priorities

An administration source told The Chronicle that “any institution that wants to adopt these principles” could sign onto the document, which offers a purported edge in grant funding.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Want something fun (I hope) to read that's not about huge government interventions in higher ed? I wrote about nerd camp! The story has some higher-ed connections, I promise, and it was a pleasure to report: www.chronicle.com/article/what...

What Nerd Camp Can Tell Us About the SAT

No selective college relies on standardized tests alone to admit students, but the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth does. That makes it an interesting test case.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

My colleagues broke down in detail the contents of the "compact" the Trump administration reportedly sent to nine colleges. Hope this helps your discussions: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The White House’s New ‘Compact’ Would Offer Universities an Edge in Grant Funding. What’s In It?

We’ve seen what the Trump administration’s stick looks like. Let’s look at its carrot.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

What do teaching, research, and student life look like after a college reaches a deal with the Trump administration? I visited Columbia during the first week of classes to find out: www.chronicle.com/article/life...

Columbia Confronts Life After Its Deal With Trump

The university endured two years of unprecedented upheaval. Will its wide-ranging settlement with the government allow it to turn the page?

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

So proud of my colleagues' fast and in-depth work covering the killing of Charlie Kirk, and what it means for higher ed: www.chronicle.com/article/maki...

Charlie Kirk’s Killing Silences a Conservative Voice. His Movement May Grow Louder.

The founder of Turning Point USA was shot at a campus speaking event, injecting urgency and solemnity into a broader debate about political intolerance in higher education.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Fab story by @peterelkind.bsky.social and @katiemangan.bsky.social about Leo Terrell, head of the White House antisemitism task force investigating colleges. Terrell's been sued for malpractice, owes almost $400K taxes, yells at coworkers. And that's just the start: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

Why the Unlikely Leader of Trump’s Antisemitism Task Force May Be the Perfect Man for the Job

As a Black, Christian, former Democrat with little previous engagement with Jewish causes, Leo Terrell seemed an improbable pick to eradicate antisemitic harassment in higher ed. But his zeal and foot...

Reposted by Francie Diep

Megan Zahneis @mzahneis.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

In light of this morning's letter from the White House antisemitism task force to Harvard — which found Harvard "in violent violation of Title VI" — here's @franciediep.bsky.social and @erickelderman.bsky.social on what a deal between the parties might mean for #HigherEd. #AcademicSky

What a Harvard Deal Would Mean for Higher Ed

Some faculty and outside observers fear there are no good deals to be made with the federal government. Others hope for a path forward that safeguards university research and teaching.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Bob Morse, who's led the methodology for U.S. News' college rankings for 37 years, is retiring at the end of this month. Here's my exit interview with him: www.chronicle.com/article/u-s-...

‘U.S. News’ Rankings Guru, Soon to Retire, Reflects on the Role He’s Played in Higher Ed

Bob Morse helmed “Best Colleges” for almost 40 years, and has been at <i>U.S. News</i> for almost 50. Higher ed has changed a lot in his time.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

I'm sure it's just convergent evolution. But also ours is better-looking.

Reposted by Francie Diep

Stephanie M. Lee @stephaniemlee.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Scoop from @franciediep.bsky.social: In Public, Harvard Is Fighting Trump. Quietly, It’s Dismantling a Program the White House Doesn’t Like. www.chronicle.com/article/in-p...

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Does it feel like private-equity guys are suddenly everywhere talking about higher ed? Perhaps because they are: A paper out earlier this year found a big rise in the percentage of top-ranked university trustees who are private-equity and hedge-fund managers: www.chronicle.com/article/priv...

Private-Equity Wealth Is Growing on the Most Prestigious University Boards, Study Finds

“That’s become a political vulnerability,” one researcher said.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Bob Morse is retiring! www.usnews.com/education/bl... Here's my take on Morse's place in higher ed, from 2022: www.chronicle.com/article/wher... More to come soon, I hope!

Reposted by Francie Diep

nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Information is a product and you get what you pay for

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

I noticed a new trend: The Trump administration has been highlighting less prestigious colleges in its higher-ed reform efforts. One thing that points to is that officials seem to be choosing where to focus based on viral news. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet

After months of headlines about elite colleges, the Trump administration is announcing investigations of less-prominent ones, sometimes seemingly in reaction to viral news.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

What really happened behind the scenes in fall 2023, as Liz Magill, Penn's president, faced calls from big donors to resign? A new book, from the chair of Penn's board at the time, offers an inside look: www.chronicle.com/article/how-... Very interesting to see how some big donors operate.

How Things Fell Apart at the U. of Pennsylvania After the Antisemitism Hearing

A new book by the former chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees offers an inside look at the drama and big-donor influence that led to his resignation and that of the university’s president.

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Two years after conservatives took over the New College of Florida, what does campus life look like? Emma Pettit's story is thorough, thought-provoking (How might this translate to other colleges should the administration succeed in its crusade?), and an easy read: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

The College That Conservatives Took Over

The overhaul of New College of Florida stoked fear on the left and excitement on the right. Two years in, what’s really changed?

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

More details: This is for a report I'm working on about college reputation-building. I'm not looking for moral reasons to keep to a local mission. I'm seeking someone who would argue it can be good for a college's rep and finances.

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Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Reporting request: Do you know of someone who advocates for and counsels colleges to double down on a local, teaching, open-access, student-success-oriented mission — rather than chasing traditional markers of prestige, like rankings? Bonus if you know they're good at writing!

Francie Diep @franciediep.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

I had missed that the Ed Dept's "Dear Colleague" anti-DEI letter talks about colleges' SAT policies. This is a smart story on the issue by @liamknox.bsky.social: www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi... Extremely on-brand quotes in there, from John Friedman and @bakerdphd.bsky.social

insidehighered.com

How standardized tests became part of the DEI debate

The Trump administration’s Dear Colleague letter railed against colleges’ racial diversity initiatives. How did testing policies wind up in the mix?