Mary Keister
marykeister.bsky.social
Mary Keister
@marykeister.bsky.social
Communicator, higher ed nerd, proud Beloit College grad, occasional drummer

Work with me: https://www.marykeister.com/
Reposted by Mary Keister
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We regret to inform you that his phenomenon has a name: RAS Syndrome.

Redundant Acronym Syndrome…Syndrome.
May 27, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
This framing is all wrong

Our international students are not a “crucial funding source”

They are our STUDENTS

They are the reason we EXIST

We teach STUDENTS
May 22, 2025 at 6:21 PM
"The researchers emphasized the role government funding played in the development. ...

“I don’t think this could have happened in any country other than the U.S.,” Dr. Urnov said."

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/h...
Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment
www.nytimes.com
May 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A powerful piece: "To watch these changes unfold without naming them for what they are is to participate in a collective amnesia about how knowledge infrastructures shape power relations." time.com/7285045/resi...
Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress
I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.
time.com
May 13, 2025 at 10:11 PM
🤨🤨🤨 some (me) would disagree!

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
May 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
“No limits” doing some worrying work here
April 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
Can’t imagine what an undertaking this must have been for Booker’s staff.
April 1, 2025 at 11:55 PM
“Congress appropriated this funding to make us safer, stronger, and more competitive. ... We’re urging Congress to advocate for and believe in their own appropriations.” — Melissa Torres, the Forum on Education Abroad

#SaveStudyAbroad #SaveGilman #SaveECAFunding
The State Department said it was freezing grant programs to conduct a 15-day reviews. The review period has expired, and funding has not been restored to international education and exchange programs, including Fulbright and Gilman. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/l...
Worried About the Future, International-Ed Groups Go on Offense
State Department funding for programs including the Fulbright and Gilman scholarships was paused for review. It’s still frozen.
www.chronicle.com
March 5, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
Breaking news: A federal judge in Maryland on Friday temporarily blocked key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government and corporate America.
Judge temporarily blocks key parts of Trump’s executive orders targeting DEI
The plaintiffs argued that the president’s edicts against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives exceeded his authority and violate their constitutional right to due process.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 22, 2025 at 12:31 AM
"Regardless of their personal views on contentious topics, members of the executive and legislative branches have long seen themselves as caretakers of a precious commodity — the nation’s scientific and technological communities. ...

Today is very different."

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/o...
Opinion | I Used to Run the N.I.H. Here’s What Worries Me.
The Trump administration hobbles research and endangers the public health.
www.nytimes.com
February 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
On webinar today, ACE president Ted Mitchell cautioned colleges to not engage in "over-compliance" or "anticipatory compliance" in face of what he termed a "ridiculous" Dear Colleague letter. 1/2
February 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.

I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates NOT-OD-25-068. OD
grants.nih.gov
February 8, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Mary Keister
It's unlikely (and probably inadvisable) for college leaders will be part of the resistance. But they can provide wartime leadership for their campuses. My piece in @insidehighered.com www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
College leaders in the foxhole (opinion)
Holden Thorp writes that the public response from college presidents to the Trump administration’s orders has been quiet so far—but he expects that to change.
www.insidehighered.com
February 4, 2025 at 1:11 PM
"Higher education is about opening up opportunity, innovation and progress for people across the nation. Yet, these Executive Orders will undermine our ability to do that." — NADOHE president

Thank you to these organizations for their courage.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

#highered
Diversity officers and professors sue to block Trump’s DEI orders
The federal lawsuit contends the executive orders — which request potential investigations against large universities and corporations — are unconstitutional.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
"Sixteen institutions reported spending nothing, and 17 said they spent between 0.001 percent and 0.42 percent of their budget on DEI."

Don't miss this quick story by @susanhgreenberg.bsky.social: www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
Louisiana colleges spend just a fraction of the budget on DEI
Louisiana’s public colleges and universities spend only 0.1 percent of the state’s higher ed budget on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to an analysis from The Louisiana Illumina...
www.insidehighered.com
January 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
What do we think Indiana Jones’ teaching load was? 1930s at a selective LAC?
December 31, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Shoutout to local public libraries, the MVPs of traveling with toddlers. Family-friendly bathrooms! Endless books! Fun toys and puzzles! And free for visitors! What an unbelievable gift for tired parents 😅
December 31, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Spidey and His Amazing Friends theme song = a surprising bop
Some shows, you have to listen to the whole intro song. It’s the law.
December 16, 2024 at 2:37 AM
Words matter. Thanks to @doristruong.bsky.social for these resources to help us all communicate about sensitive issues with accurate language.
"Journalists can fall into a trap of parroting the language provided by officials, whether that’s law enforcement, the courts, politicians, academics, or subject-matter experts," writes @doristruong.bsky.social
Watch your language
"Journalists can fall into a trap of parroting the language provided by officials, whether that's law enforcement, the courts, politicians, academics, or subject-matter experts."
buff.ly
December 12, 2024 at 2:07 AM
Thank goodness for the investment in local news coverage that makes it possible for important stories like this to be published.
“All you hear is, ‘We used to have this, because we used to have more students.’” Across the country, regional publics in rural areas are scrapping degree programs to ease budget shortfalls.

Our local reporters collaborated with @hechingerreport.org:
www.opencampusmedia.org/2024/11/26/e...
‘Easy to just write us off’: Rural students’ options shrink as colleges slash majors - Open Campus
As enrollments fall, rural-serving universities are shedding degree programs from music to chemistry.
www.opencampusmedia.org
November 26, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
The Education Writers Association is officially on Bluesky.

Spread the word!
November 22, 2024 at 5:28 PM
Important research that is worth a read by #highered communicators. (Takeaway from that abstract: 😬)
Holy crap this is an astounding piece of historical research

Will post ungated link later today unless someone beats me to it

www.nber.org/system/files...
November 18, 2024 at 8:44 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
I don't want to sound alarmist or anything, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to skip FBI background checks and bury congressional ethics reports about nominees to the most important posts in the federal government.
November 15, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Mary Keister
#higheredmarketing friends, don’t be a victim of brand squatting. Claim your school’s handle — and all variations thereof — whether you intend to include BlueSky in your social strategy or not
November 15, 2024 at 3:23 AM