Tagged: higher education

The House Labor Committee holds a hearing today on repealing what’s known as the Caruolo Act. The law, now infamous in Rhode Island education circles, allows school committees to sue their city or town for more funding.

There have been several attempts to do away with the Caruolo Act, but so far none have succeeded. Critics say it is nonsensical for an arm of local government to essentially sue itself, and local officials complain the lawsuits rack up expensive legal bills and sour relations between city and school leaders.

Brown University once again led the pack in Rhode Island in fundraising last year, bringing in a little more than $178 million. The University of Rhode Island was a distant second at $12.7 million, a drop of $6 million compared with 2011.

Donations were also down at Rhode Island College, which raised $1.36 million, and at the Rhode Island School of Design, which still came in second overall. RISD raised a total of nearly $6.8 million.

This summer, Brown University plans to launch a School of Public Health. After ten years of planning and building, the School will pull together existing institutes, departments, and programs. The establishment of the School of Public Health should draw more funding and student talent, according to the University. Dr. Terrie “Fox” Wetle, associate dean of medicine for public health, will draw on her thirteen years of experience at Brown in her role as the dean of the new school.