News and information should be available in ways that enable everyone, regardless of background, education level, household income, or profession, to influence what happens. People need a sense of confidence that things can change—and that they can make a real difference. 

A national initiative called Press Forward is working to make that happen with an infusion of more than $500 million over the next five years in local news organizations and the networks that support and grow them.  

Illustration: The Chronicle

Seventeen low-enrollment undergraduate majors at Miami University in Ohio, many of which are in the humanities, have been directed to reinvent themselves, potentially by merging with other programs.

While one state over, West Virginia University has undertaken program cuts criticized by its faculty for being top-down and drastic, Miami administrators are eyeing a much more moderate reform. But their plan signals that, for many colleges, predictions of needed belt tightening ahead are starting to become reality.

At a time when Americans joke about how bad they are at math, employers and others are raising new alarms about America’s poor math performance. They say it's a threat to the nation’s economic prosperity, global competitiveness, and national security.

This reality is prompting some colleges and universities to create programs and partnerships that encourage more young people to learn—and love—math.