College Shorts

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Union Institute to sell Montpelier campus

Union Institute & University has announced plans to sell its Montpelier campus to the recently formed Vermont College of Fine Arts, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Union Institute acquired the 34-acre campus overlooking downtown Montpelier from Norwich University in 2001, and operated it primarily as an undergraduate residential campus. The decision to sell came after Union Institute, a nationwide distance-learning network, decided to focus on its adult degree programs.

Under the terms of the sale, the Vermont College of Fine Arts will own the campus's 11 buildings, as well as master's degree programs in fine arts, writing and visual arts. Union Institute will lease space from Vermont College, continuing to operate its undergraduate and master's programs in education on the campus.

"We are gratified that our investments in the buildings, the campus, the programs, and the people have given birth to the new and promising entity of the Vermont College of Fine Arts," said Union President Roger H. Sublett in a statement.

-Burlington Free Press


Boston College student charged in stabbing

A female Boston College student pleaded not guilty Monday on charges of stabbing another woman in a campus dormitory, the Associated Press reported.

Brianna Jones, 19, was arrested on Friday night after Boston police received a call that two students were fighting in the college's Vanderslice Hall.

The victim was apparently stabbed under her lung and was hospitalized for a puncture wound. The injury is non-life threatening.

Jones was suspended from school pending the outcome of the criminal case, as per college policy.

"It's university policy to issue a summary suspension if the student's alleged actions are considered a threat to the community," Dunn told the AP.

-Boston Herald


Stanford gets $75 million from Yahoo co-founder

Stanford University graduate and Yahoo Inc. co-founder Jerry Yang has pledged $75 million in donation money to his alma mater. The sum, to be paid over the course of several years, will help fund the construction of a number of new facilities on the Stanford campus.

$50 million of Yang's $75 million donation will contribute to a new energy and environmental studies building. An additional $5 million will be given to the university's medical school for the construction of a doctor training facility. The remaining $20 million will be reserved for future use.

A September 2006 Forbes magazine report placed Yang's net worth at $2.4 billion last year. Yang will be making his donation in conjunction with his wife and fellow Stanford graduate, Akiko Yamazaki.

Alumni donations to Stanford have jumped more than 50 percent over the last year, from $603 million to $911 million.

The $911 million raised by Stanford in 2006 was the most ever raised by a U.S. university. Total donations to Stanford last year were well ahead of the next highest amount, raised by Harvard University, which raised $595 million. Yale University was third with total donations totaling $433.5 million.

-CNN.com