Larry Ladd
@larryladd.bsky.social
Helping colleges, universities, and other not-for-profit organizations become more successful.
Today in 2022, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot. He was freed in 2025 under President Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection.
www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1...
www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1...
Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers founder, sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy
The punishment for Stewart Rhodes on a seditious conspiracy charge could set the bar for others, including top members of the far-right Proud Boys group, this summer.
www.npr.org
November 29, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Today in 2022, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot. He was freed in 2025 under President Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection.
www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1...
www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1...
Brigham Young University thrives because its faith tradition is vibrant and growing. If you are a faith-based institution but your denomination is shrinking and struggling, it is likely that your institution is also.
What makes Brigham Young University unique
BYU President C. Shane Reese and Vice President Keith Vorkink on President Spencer W. Kimball’s encouragement for BYU to shine its "unique light."
www.thechurchnews.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Brigham Young University thrives because its faith tradition is vibrant and growing. If you are a faith-based institution but your denomination is shrinking and struggling, it is likely that your institution is also.
"The Board of Trustees and University leadership weighed Northwestern’s set of very difficult options and determined this agreement was the best way not only to restore federal funding but also to safeguard our institution and preserve our values and principles."
Agreement with Federal Government to Restore Northwestern Research Funding: Office of the President - Northwestern University
www.northwestern.edu
November 29, 2025 at 12:11 PM
"The Board of Trustees and University leadership weighed Northwestern’s set of very difficult options and determined this agreement was the best way not only to restore federal funding but also to safeguard our institution and preserve our values and principles."
Three Native American-serving colleges, so far, have been the beneficiaries of unrestricted gifts from MacKenzie Scott.
MacKenzie Scott awards $32 million to Native American-serving colleges
MacKenzie Scott awards $32 million to Native American-serving colleges. The unrestricted grants include $17 million to Northern Oklahoma College, $10 million to the College of Menominee Nation in Wisc...
philanthropynewsdigest.org
November 29, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Three Native American-serving colleges, so far, have been the beneficiaries of unrestricted gifts from MacKenzie Scott.
"Governments exist to protect the rights of minorities. The loved and the rich need no protection: they have many friends and few enemies."
Happy birthday to abolitionist and orator Wendell Phillips (1811-84). He was also an advocate of rights for women and Native Americans.
Happy birthday to abolitionist and orator Wendell Phillips (1811-84). He was also an advocate of rights for women and Native Americans.
Wendell Phillips - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 29, 2025 at 11:49 AM
"Governments exist to protect the rights of minorities. The loved and the rich need no protection: they have many friends and few enemies."
Happy birthday to abolitionist and orator Wendell Phillips (1811-84). He was also an advocate of rights for women and Native Americans.
Happy birthday to abolitionist and orator Wendell Phillips (1811-84). He was also an advocate of rights for women and Native Americans.
Today marks the 161st anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre, when white invaders attacked and destroyed a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho inhabited in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 70–163 Indians, about two-thirds of whom were women and children.
Colorado Experience | Sand Creek Massacre | Season 2 | Episode 210
Colorado Experience revisits the horrific events of the Sand Creek Massacre.
www.pbs.org
November 29, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Today marks the 161st anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre, when white invaders attacked and destroyed a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho inhabited in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 70–163 Indians, about two-thirds of whom were women and children.
Remembering dancer and choreographer Pearl Primus (1919-94) on her birthday. She was a pioneer in portraying African dance and culture.
Pearl Primus Performance of Fanga Dance
YouTube video by Robert Damm
www.youtube.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Remembering dancer and choreographer Pearl Primus (1919-94) on her birthday. She was a pioneer in portraying African dance and culture.
On this day in 1781 the crew of the British slave ship Zong murdered 133 Africans by dumping them into the sea to claim insurance.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_ma...
Zong massacre - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 29, 2025 at 11:16 AM
On this day in 1781 the crew of the British slave ship Zong murdered 133 Africans by dumping them into the sea to claim insurance.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_ma...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_ma...
My favorite is #2: "Listen to your mental criticism, but don't dwell on it" www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/shi...
Shirzad Chamine: Five Strategies to Challenge Negative Thoughts
www.gsb.stanford.edu
November 28, 2025 at 8:25 PM
My favorite is #2: "Listen to your mental criticism, but don't dwell on it" www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/shi...
My favorite is “Prioritize visibly. You can’t do it all. Focus on what matters most—and make that focus public. A simple, recurring message highlighting top priorities can help align the team, reduce confusion, and cut unnecessary escalations.”
hbr.org/2025/11/our-...
hbr.org/2025/11/our-...
Our Favorite Management Tips on Leading When You’re Overwhelmed
Our Management Tip of the Day newsletter continues to be one of HBR’s most popular newsletters. In this article, we’ve compiled eight of our favorite tips on leading when you’re feeling overwhelmed, f...
hbr.org
November 28, 2025 at 6:25 PM
My favorite is “Prioritize visibly. You can’t do it all. Focus on what matters most—and make that focus public. A simple, recurring message highlighting top priorities can help align the team, reduce confusion, and cut unnecessary escalations.”
hbr.org/2025/11/our-...
hbr.org/2025/11/our-...
Liquidity is king. To assess financial viability, it's more important to look at cash than assets. When you do so, the number of institutions who are now, or soon will be, in serious financial trouble expands considerably.
The Financial Risk of Declining Enrollment to Midsize Colleges
An analysis of 44 private institutions in New England reveal troubling signs for the viability of all such schools nationwide
www.educationnext.org
November 28, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Liquidity is king. To assess financial viability, it's more important to look at cash than assets. When you do so, the number of institutions who are now, or soon will be, in serious financial trouble expands considerably.
Happy 82nd birthday to Randy Newman. This song was written to commemorate a Louisiana flood in 1927 but has poignancy for any time folks are abandoned by government in a time of need.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs2...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs2...
Randy Newman "Louisiana 1927"
YouTube video by WestHam712
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Happy 82nd birthday to Randy Newman. This song was written to commemorate a Louisiana flood in 1927 but has poignancy for any time folks are abandoned by government in a time of need.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs2...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs2...
Colleges and universities, with the rare exceptions at the top of the pyramid, are getting less selective and making it easier to apply, and that's before the enrollment slope (usually mistakenly called a "cliff") begins to do its work.
Colleges ease the dreaded admissions process as the supply of applicants declines
Prospective college students are finding no-fee and one-click applications — and higher acceptance rates.
www.latimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Colleges and universities, with the rare exceptions at the top of the pyramid, are getting less selective and making it easier to apply, and that's before the enrollment slope (usually mistakenly called a "cliff") begins to do its work.
“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s game.” Babe Ruth
November 27, 2025 at 11:25 PM
“Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s game.” Babe Ruth
“Gratitude can become a way of life.” theconversation.com/are-you-as-g...
Are you as grateful as you deserve to be?
Thanksgiving is a life-enriching practice worth cultivating all year long.
theconversation.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:18 PM
“Gratitude can become a way of life.” theconversation.com/are-you-as-g...
In a counter-cultural and deeply symbolic act for the time, on Thanksgiving in 1862 Governor John Albion Andrew of Massachusetts joined African-American Lewis Hayden for dinner at Hayden’s Beacon Hill home.
November 27, 2025 at 11:17 PM
In a counter-cultural and deeply symbolic act for the time, on Thanksgiving in 1862 Governor John Albion Andrew of Massachusetts joined African-American Lewis Hayden for dinner at Hayden’s Beacon Hill home.
A second survey, this one by NAFSA, confirms sharp drops in new international students this fall, a 6% average drop in new bachelor’s enrollment and a 19% drop in new master’s enrollment for the fall.
New international enrollment dipped this fall, NAFSA survey finds
The poll is the second released this month to show significant declines, especially in new foreign graduate students coming to the U.S.
www.highereddive.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:38 PM
A second survey, this one by NAFSA, confirms sharp drops in new international students this fall, a 6% average drop in new bachelor’s enrollment and a 19% drop in new master’s enrollment for the fall.
"The history of artificial intelligence is inseparable from the history of open science."
Universities Must Reclaim AI Research for the Public Good | Stanford HAI
With corporate AI labs turning inward, academia must carry forward the mantle of open science.
hai.stanford.edu
November 27, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"The history of artificial intelligence is inseparable from the history of open science."
“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” Forty seven years ago today San Francisco’s openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk, and mayor George Moscone, were assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_...
Harvey Milk - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM
“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” Forty seven years ago today San Francisco’s openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk, and mayor George Moscone, were assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_...
A classic New Yorker cartoon by Benjamin Schwartz.
November 27, 2025 at 11:58 AM
A classic New Yorker cartoon by Benjamin Schwartz.
Today in 1970 the native people of Massachusetts began a new tradition: a "National Day of Mourning."
First
On this day in 1970, a group of Native Americans attending a Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth walked out in protest. The Indians and their supporters gathered on a hill overlooking Plymouth Rock near a ...
www.massmoments.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Today in 1970 the native people of Massachusetts began a new tradition: a "National Day of Mourning."
Howard Thurman’s Thanksgiving Prayer:
www.bu.edu/sth/a-prayer...
www.bu.edu/sth/a-prayer...
A Prayer of Thanksgiving | School of Theology
www.bu.edu
November 27, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Howard Thurman’s Thanksgiving Prayer:
www.bu.edu/sth/a-prayer...
www.bu.edu/sth/a-prayer...
“All the lessons of history in four sentences: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. The bee fertilizes the flower it robs. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” Charles Beard, born today in 1874.
Charles A. Beard - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:43 AM
“All the lessons of history in four sentences: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. The bee fertilizes the flower it robs. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” Charles Beard, born today in 1874.
Belloza is originally from Honduras, but grew up in Texas before moving to Massachusetts to study business at Babson.
Babson student heading to Texas for Thanksgiving surprise deported to Honduras instead
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a business major at Babson, was swiftly deported in violation of a court order, her lawyer alleged.
www.boston.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Belloza is originally from Honduras, but grew up in Texas before moving to Massachusetts to study business at Babson.
The assumption of positive intent can be a life saver.
nireyal.medium.com/kindness-is-...
nireyal.medium.com/kindness-is-...
The Secret to True Kindness
Research shows it’s measured by the benefit of the doubt
nireyal.medium.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:22 AM
The assumption of positive intent can be a life saver.
nireyal.medium.com/kindness-is-...
nireyal.medium.com/kindness-is-...