By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

EdX, a not-for-profit initiative that offers online classes at no charge, has announced that it will add the first college in India to its consortium.

According to a statement released by edX, The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay will work with edX, a platform launched by Harvard and MIT in 2012, to fill a specific need in India: training engineering teachers.

There are approximately 5,000 engineering colleges in India, with more than 1.25 million students enrolled at the colleges, the statement said. By joining edX, IIT Bombay aims to “increase the number of qualified and experienced engineering educators in India and beyond.”

EdX offers massive open online courses, or MOOCs, which are free online classes that enroll thousands of students all around the world. EdX’s students reside in 192 countries, with India attracting the most students after the United States.

According to the statement, the addition of IIT Bombay will bring the total number of schools participating in edX to 28. In May, edX announced that 15 colleges and universities, including many from Asia and Europe, were joining the initiative.

"At edX, our global community continues to grow at the student and institutional levels," Anant Agarwal, president of edX, said in the statement. "India is an important market for us and is home to the largest population of edX learners outside of the United States. We are pleased that IIT Bombay has joined our distinguished group of xConsortium members, which increases global access to a world-class education and adds a rich variety of new courses to edX's offerings."

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

After two decades of sifting through thousands of resumes and hiring new people, Mark O'Toole, from HB Agency, created a slide show to explain why new college graduates were not offered jobs.

Those who did not get the job were sometimes just not the right fit. Other times, they were trumped by a more impressive candidate or victim to some other random event mostly out of their control.

Too many had the background to make the cut or at least garner a second interview. But disastrous interviewing skills brought you down.

If you're a recent graduate or about to graduate, hopefully these tips will help you land that dream job. You might also want to check out our list of what college majors have the highest unemployment rates.

The following is a release from the Middlesex District Attorney. For full coverage of today's developments, including federal charges against Tsarnaev, go to boston.com.

WOBURN – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury on more than a dozen criminal charges including murder for the shooting death of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced today.

Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, was indicted on charges of murder, attempted armed robbery, armed assault with intent to murder (four counts), assault with a dangerous weapon (four counts), kidnapping, armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a large capacity feeding device, and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.

“Officer Collier was a dedicated officer who was beloved by the MIT community and we are all deeply affected by his loss,” District Attorney Ryan said. “Today’s indictment is about recognizing the sacrifice of Officer Collier and working toward providing some solace for his family. It is also about recognizing the important work of the police in Middlesex County. They put themselves in harms way every day and this office will fully prosecute anyone who kills or attempts to kill a police officer in this county. I would like to commend the work of the Massachusetts State Police, MIT Police, Cambridge Police, Watertown Police, and MBTA Transit Police and the many other agencies that have collaborated with our office on this investigation. I’d also like to recognize our US Attorney and federal partners, with whom we will work closely as we prosecute this defendant for the violent, repulsive actions that have left a hole in our hearts and gaping wounds in our communities.”

Collier, 27, had been an MIT police officer since January 2012 and prior to that he was a civilian employee with the Somerville Police Department. Gov. Deval Patrick has signed legislation authorizing the City of Somerville to posthumously appoint Collier to the Somerville Police Department, which he was scheduled to join this summer.

The indictment stems from incidents that occurred in Middlesex County on April 18 and 19, 2013.

At approximately 10:20 p.m. on April 18, police received reports of shots fired on the MIT campus. At 10:30 p.m., officers discovered Collier shot in his vehicle in the area of Vassar and Main streets. According to authorities, the officer had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced deceased.

Authorities launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the shooting.

The investigation determined that two males were allegedly involved in this shooting, Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

After unsuccessfully attempting to steal the officers’ weapon, the two suspects fled the scene and then carjacked a vehicle in Boston. With the vehicle’s owner hostage in the vehicle, the two suspects drove to various locations, including an ATM in Watertown. It is alleged that the defendant and his brother stole the victim’s ATM card and withdrew money from an ATM. The suspects then stopped in Cambridge for gas and the victim fled.

The defendant and his brother drove to Watertown, where police, using GPS, located the vehicle. A Watertown police officer spotted the vehicle in the area of Dexter and Laurel Streets in Watertown. As additional police arrived, it is alleged that the suspects began shooting at police, leading to an exchange of gunfire with police. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and also hit by a vehicle driven by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He was transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fled the scene and was arrested by the FBI in Watertown following an extensive search.

An MBTA Transit Police officer was seriously injured during the shootout. That aspect of the case, including the circumstances surrounding the shooting in Watertown, remains under investigation.

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The investigation into the incidents that occurred in Middlesex County is a collaborative effort involving multiple agencies including the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police, Cambridge Police, MIT Police, Watertown Police, Boston Police, MBTA Transit Police, the State Police Crime Lab, the FBI, and the US Attorney’s Office in Boston.

The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Lynch, Chief of Homicide. The victim witness advocate is Helena Clarke.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

The incoming classes at Harvard College and MIT seem to be waging a series of online pranks against one another.

First reported by The Huffington Post on Tuesday, these jokes included MIT students editing a website devoted to the Harvard class of 2017, and replacing students’ pictures with an image of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. A Reddit user posted a screengrab of the hack.

Another screenshot showed that MIT students also changed each Harvard students’ bios to phrases like, “I wish I had as much swag as the MIT kids.”

In response, the incoming Harvard students created a Google Doc announcing a “Declaration of War!”

"Whereas the Immature Prefrosh of MIT has committed unprovoked acts of war against the Harvard 2017 Website and the Members of the Harvard Class of 2017:

Therefore be it Resolved by that the state of war between the Harvard Class of 2017 and the Immature Prefrosh of MIT which has thus been thrust upon the Harvard class of 2017 is hereby formally declared; and the Harvard Class of 2017 is hereby ComMITted to utilize the entire strengths of its class to carry on war against the MIT Prefrosh."

They later created a “Terms of Surrender” Google Doc, in which the incoming Harvard students demanded that the MIT class of 2017 apologize, and comply to several terms. For example, Article V states that the “Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Class of 2017 provides Harvard University, Class of 2017 with a tribute of several varieties of cookies and cheesecake in sweet abundance.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

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Boston.com Staff

The Boston University women’s soccer team won the 2012-13 Terrier Cup, which is awarded each year to a BU athletic team based on academic performance, community service, athletic achievement and team spirit, campus officials said.

The women’s soccer team amassed a total of 556.9 points through the competition, driven by points earned through the service category, officials said. The team volunteered 715 hours of community service, which was more than any other sports team at BU and equaled 297.9 points in the Terrier Cup competition.

“Like all of the student-athletes at Boston University, our players work very hard on and off the field,” said a statement from women’s soccer head coach Nancy Feldman. “They are motivated to represent themselves, our program and Boston University in all they do. I know they take great pride in being a part of the camaraderie that is Boston University Athletics, being part of Boston University, as well as being good citizens and giving back to others in this great city of Boston.”

Women’s ice hockey finished a close second, just 59.4 points behind women’s soccer for the Terrier Cup. The team amassed 100 points in the athletic achievement category after a season that saw the team advance to the NCAA championship title game. Women’s ice hockey also finished second in community service points with 212.5.

Rounding out the top five were women’s swimming and diving, with 358.9 points; women’s softball, with 322.4 points; and women’s rowing, with 314.2 points. The top men’s team finisher was men’s swimming, finishing 10th with 206.4 points, followed by men’s track/cross country, with 205 points, and men’s ice hockey, with 185.8 points.

“This year’s Terrier Cup gave Boston University teams an opportunity to compete in a friendly competition that focused on our department’s core values of athletic excellence, academic achievement and community service,” said a statement from Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch. “I am extremely proud of the effort of the women’s soccer team and all our student-athletes who participated in the Terrier Cup this past year. Congratulations to Nancy Feldman, her staff and the entire women’s soccer team.”

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

It was 35 years ago, but the acts of anti-Semitism still sting.

At a Babson College soccer practice before a game against Brandeis University, two Babson team members hung a sign with the letters “K T J,” short for “Kill The Jews,” and a Jewish star with a cross superimposed onto it.

Babson players wore swastikas, and were yelling “holocaust.” The next morning, a sign with the words “Happy Holocaust” was found in the gymnasium.

The year was 1978.

On Wednesday morning, Babson College President Leonard Schlesinger issued a formal apology for the hateful acts the students committed.

“Public acts require public apologies, and we are now in the business of being very clear: that I actually don’t believe there is any time duration that is too long to address that wrong,” Schlesinger said at a press conference held at the New England Regional Anti-Defamation League office in Boston.

Schlesinger said the 1978 incident was first brought to his attention in February by a former Babson student. Schlesinger and his staff uncovered documents which confirmed the anti-Semitic acts, and learned more about the administration’s response at the time.

The incidents were controversial at the time, and Babson College administrators and students took several steps to respond: the athletic director and soccer players issued apologies, the Babson president wrote a letter to the college community, the soccer team was required watch a movie about the Holocaust and to attend a series of other educational sessions. But Schlesinger said he was disappointed that the administration didn’t issue a formal apology, or make a public apology to Brandeis.

“There was an institutional response; I want to be very clear about that. And that institutional response was not insignificant...,” he said Wednesday. “[But] it doesn’t strike me as an appropriate institutional response either at that point or for today.”

In addition to the formal apology on Wednesday, Schlesinger wrote a letter to the president of Brandeis University, Frederick M. Lawrence, in which he called the acts “a source of great shame for Babson.”

“As I have come to learn more about these incidents, I have been greatly disturbed by the administration handling of the hateful acts experienced both by the Babson and Brandeis communities,” Schlesinger wrote in a letter earlier this month. “Although it is some 35 years later, as President of this institution, I believe I have a fundamental responsibility to respond to what I have learned, including extending my most sincere public apology to the entire Brandeis community for the unconscionable behavior of Babson students.”

Lawrence wrote back, thanking him for the letter and for “your leadership in seeing the opportunity for learning and healing from the events of 1978.”

“On behalf of the Brandeis community, we accept your apology and appreciate the spirit in which it has been offered,” Lawrence replied. “We can agree that hatred of all kinds- including anti-Semitism - has no place in our institutions of higher education.”

As he learned more about the incidents, Schlesinger did not confront the students who committed the acts more than three decades ago, but instead chose to look forward and try to learn from the hateful experience.

At the press conference Wednesday, Schlesinger announced that Babson is working with the Anti-Defamation League to bring an anti-bias training program to the 500 first-year students coming to the Wellesley-based school for orientation. This will be followed by a week of training for faculty and staff.

Robert Trestan, the New England Regional Director of the ADL, applauded Babson for learning about its history and responding in a proactive manner.

“Hate and bigotry on college campuses are not just annoyances, they’re not just blips on the screen or incidents,” Trestan said. But they’re a threat to the integrity of academic institutions and they present a serious challenge to their ability to carry out their mission. And Len is a president who recognizes that.”

Trestan also emphasized that instituting this program is just the first step.

“It is not a one-shot deal, this is the beginning of a relationship,” he said. “It’s the beginning of a partnership between Babson and the ADL.”

Jeffrey Robbins, also of the ADL, commended Babson and said that “I don’t expect that it was an easy thing necessarily for Babson to do.”

“This is an example of leadership -- real moral leadership, real wisdom,” he said. “And the effect of Babson doing this ought not to be minimized.”

Schlesinger, who is Jewish, is stepping down as Babson president next week. He said both of his parents were Holocaust survivors, and his mother, who is still alive, lectures to middle school students about the Holocaust.

“One of the important agendas of Holocaust survivors is obviously to never forget. I’m a strong believer in the importance of testimony to ensure that other generations don’t forget,” Schlesinger said. “There’s no question in my mind that experience frames how I think about this issue. But…I’m a college president who happens to be Jewish, not a Jewish college president.”

Schlesinger said he is proud that Babson’s campus is far different now -- the college says its students come from 74 different countries. He says that although some would say, “why don’t you just let this go?,” he wants to speak out against the past and use it as a teachable moment for future students.

“We are going to be as ironclad sure as we can be -- that the incidents of 1978 can not and will not ever be repeated on our campus,” he said.
Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

The former chaplain of the Catholic Center at Boston University has left his leading role there to join the faculty at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, officials said.

Msgr. John McLaughlin Jr. made the move this month at the request Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, according to an announcement from the center where McLaughlin served for two years.

“Msgr. John McLaughlin’s love of students, willingness to share his talents and work to improve the Catholic Center will characterize his legacy here,” said a statement from Denis Nakkeeran, president of the Catholic Student Association. “His sacrifice offered us a great example of the Christian life. We remain grateful to him and wish him well at St. John’s.”

McLaughlin will serve as Head of Spiritual Direction at St. John’s Seminary, directing about 25 men and coordinating with other students at the seminary.

“Although this change in personnel brings new challenges, Msgr. McLaughlin will serve the Church’s future well at St. John’s,” said a statement from the Catholic Center at BU. “In this new role, he will contribute to the formation of priests from a number of American Dioceses.”

“During his brief tenure at Boston University, Msgr. McLaughlin transformed the physical and spiritual landscapes through his dedication to students,” the statement said. “Often found at Terrier athletic contests and engaging students in conversation, Msgr. McLaughlin performed a ministry of presence.”

“He instituted the custom of praying the Liturgy of the Hours and centered the Newman House on daily prayer and the sacraments,” the statement added. “He oversaw and contributed to the restoration of the 19th century Newman House, including a complete renovation of the basement. These improvements allowed for a greater number of students to enjoy the center’s coffee room, study spaces and chapel. In addition to spending time with students, he offered daily Mass for the community, administered the sacraments with joy and counseled many.

Matt Rocheleau can be reached at mjrochele@gmail.com. Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Babson College will offer a formal apology on Wednesday for an incident 35 years ago in which its students shouted anti-Semitic remarks and displayed symbols that are offensive to Jews during a soccer game against Brandeis University.

Babson College President Len Schlesinger will announce that the college is creating a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League and deliver the official apology on Wednesday morning at the League’s New England headquarters.

On November 4, 1978, while Babson played Brandeis -- a school with a large Jewish student population -- in a crucial soccer match, several Babson players hung a sign in their gymnasium reading “Happy Holocaust,” according to an account released today by the ADL. Members of the team prepared for the game by wearing swastikas on their bodies for the final practice, and yelled "Holocaust" and other anti-Semitic slurs to boost the team’s morale.

“These insulting and ignorant actions left a bitter taste in the mouths of everyone at Brandeis, and those at Babson who value decency and treating others with respect,” the statement said. “The Brandeis soccer team endured a considerable amount of hate during games at other schools during the 1978 season, but the Babson incidents were extreme and hurtful.”

In partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, Babson College will create a program called "A Campus of Difference,” in which college administrators, faculty members and students will study stereotypes, and work to eliminate racism, anti-Semitism, and all forms of bigotry, according to the ADL. Throughout the upcoming academic year, the ADL will train 500 first-year students as part of Babson's orientation, followed by a week long training program for faculty and staff.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

MIT will pay an extra $125 per month to its employees who extend health care benefits to their same-sex spouses, to help offset the federal taxes that same-sex couples are required to pay under federal law, university officials announced.

Although same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for nine years, the federal government imposes a tax on employees who extend health care coverage to a same-sex spouse.

MIT officials said in a statement that the policy will be retroactive to January 1 of this year. The university will give these employees a supplemental payment of $125 a month, or $1,500 per year. The policy does not cover unmarried domestic partners.

According to the statement, MIT’s Employee Benefits Oversight Committee recommended the policy, which Provost Chris Kaiser and Executive Vice President and Treasurer Israel Ruiz approved in February.

In April, Harvard University adopted the same policy for its employees. At the time of the policy change, Harvard Divinity School employee and past co-chair of the Harvard LGBT Faculty and Staff Committee Michael Goetz said in a statement that “this policy will help Harvard attract the best talent.”

“But what it comes down to for me is, it’s the right and just thing to do,” he added. “Harvard’s seen as a leader in the higher-education world, and it’s a place whose leaders are concerned with doing the right thing.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

(Isabel Leon / City of Boston)

Scholarship and community service award recipients pose for a photo around Menino.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

Boston University this week awarded four-year, full-tuition scholarships to 25 recent graduates from Boston Public high schools through an annual program renamed this year in honor of Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

The BU Boston High School Scholarship Program was renamed the Thomas M. Menino Scholarships this year, which is the program’s 40th year, officials said.

The university said in a statement that the scholarships awarded this year are valued at more than $4.3 million and that the program has awarded about $143 million in scholarships to 1,821 students since it was created in 1973 by then-BU President John Silber and then-Mayor Kevin White.

“Our scholarship program for graduates of Boston public high schools is offered in the spirit of community service that has been a part of the fabric of Boston University since our founding, and we are proud this year to name it in honor of Mayor Thomas Menino,” university President Robert Brown said in prepared remarks at a ceremony Wednesday night. “We do this in recognition of his tireless service to the people of Boston and his leadership in public education.”

Scholars are nominated by their school’s headmasters or guidance counselors and are chosen by a three-member committee of representatives from the Mayor’s office, the university’s Office of Admissions, and the Boston Public Schools system.

The 2013 class of new scholars shared an “upward bound” weekend in New Hampshire before spending this week on the BU campus in an orientation program that includes lectures, labs and receiving housing assignments for the fall, officials said.

“It is so important for our young people to have access to higher education,” Menino said in prepared remarks. “Over the past 40 years, Boston University has given hundreds of our students the opportunity to attend a world-class university and pursue their dreams. This is an investment I know will pay off for years to come.”

Also recognized Wednesday night were 37 incoming freshman earning Boston High Community Service Awards, which offers any Boston public high school graduate who earns BU admission a guarantee to cover their full demonstrated financial need through grants, scholarships, or other forms of financial assistance without needing to take out loans.

Matt Rocheleau can be reached at mjrochele@gmail.com. Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

A Boston University graduate student who has been linked to an elaborate cheating scandal at Purdue University in Indiana is no longer enrolled at BU, a school official said.

BU spokesman Colin Riley said Wednesday that Roy Chaoran Sun of Andover, who is charged with breaking into professors' university accounts to inflate his grades, has left Boston University. Riley would not elaborate, but he confirmed that Sun was enrolled in a BU graduate program for one semester.

According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, in April, the Tippecanoe County prosecutor’s office charged Sun, 24, as well as Mitsutoshi Shirasaki, 24, and Sujay Sharma, 24, with several felonies and misdemeanors, including conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit computer tampering, and conspiracy to commit computer trespass.

The court documents were unsealed and made public last week.

According to the affidavit, Sun and Shirasaki changed their grades by breaking into professors’ offices and classrooms, and installing keylogging software. From this, Sun and Shiraski were able to figure out their professors’ log-in information, and hack into their accounts to inflate the grades.

The affidavit said that Sun changed eight F’s and one D to straight A’s. Shirasaki allegedly boosted his grades from F’s D’s and C’s to B’s and A’s, and switched one A to an A+. Shiraski is also being accused of changing a grade for his girlfriend, from an A to an A+.

The affidavit said that Shirasaki gave Sharma a few exams downloaded from a professor’s computer, and helped him change a grade from a D to an A. Sharma also allegedly acted as a lookout for Shirasaki.

John Cox, the chief for the Purdue University Police Department, told the Purdue Exponent that he has never had to deal with a case like this before.

“This was no outside attack,” Cox said. “This was [done by] some students who were very smart and used their knowledge and wisdom to do something they shouldn’t have.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

The UMass Board of Trustees urged the state Legislature to approve a $39 million funding increase for the system's colleges, and voted to allow President Robert L. Caret to raise tuition and fees up to 4.9 percent for next year if the allocation is not approved.

"We're hopeful that we can give students and their families some much needed relief for increased tuition and fees," said Ann Scales, a spokeswoman for the president's office.

Board Chairman Henry M. Thomas III said in a statement that the trustees felt the vote was necessary.

“Because the state budget has not been finalized, we find ourselves with the need to give President Caret the authority to raise tuition and fees if … and only if … state funding comes in at a figure lower than the $479 million proposed by the governor and already approved by the House,” Thomas said. “It is our fervent hope that the state budget conference committee will embrace the higher funding level approved by the House and that this increase will be signed into law by the governor.”

Thomas also said that if the additional funding is granted, the Board would freeze tuition and fees for the first time in 10 years.

The state House has approved Governor Deval Patrick’s plan for $479 million in funding for the five-campus UMass System. The Senate is proposing a budget of $455 million.

This past year, Caret has advocated for increased funding so the state and students would each pay 50 percent of the cost of education.

According to the statement, this year, approximately 75 percent of all UMass undergraduates are graduating with debt. The average student debt is $28,462, up from $20,956 five years ago.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Bentley University will hold a memorial service for a 2011 alumnus who was killed Friday in a cycling accident in Maine, according to school officials.

According to a statement, the university will host a service for 23-year-old David LeClair of Watertown, who was was struck and killed by a truck Friday morning in the town of Hanover while cycling in an American Lung Association Trek Across Maine 180-mile bike tour.

LeClair’s sister, Olivia, will be a senior at Bentley next year, the statement said. His parents are also Bentley graduates.

“Given the extensive personal and professional relationships David cultivated at Bentley and in the local area, the LeClair family has decided this will be the primary memorial ceremony for family and guests,” the statement said.

In a separate statement, Bentley President Gloria Cordes Larson and Vice President for Student Affairs Andrew Shepardson wrote that “David had the ability to transcend boundaries and establish effective communication, respect, and openness among a diverse array of students, faculty, and staff on issues that affect our entire community and create positive action out of it.”

LeClair, who studied management and the life sciences, graduated from Bentley magna cum laude.

This is the second death of a Bentley University community member in less than two weeks.

Earlier this month, a Bentley University basketball player died after he collapsed at a men’s recreational summer league game in Watertown. 19-year-old Joseph “Joey” Glynn was then taken to Mount Auburn Hospital, where he later died.

Shortly after Glynn’s death, Larson wrote that "our deepest sympathies go out to Joey’s family, friends, classmates, teammates and professors as they struggle to comprehend the sudden loss of such a vibrant young life."

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology retained the highest amount of accepted students in the university's history, with a yield of 73 percent, according to an MIT official.

Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill said that 1,125 of 1,548 accepted students confirmed that they will be attending MIT next year. In 2012, 70 percent of accepted applicants chose to attend MIT, and in 2011, the yield rate was at 65 percent.

Schmill said the admissions office had discussed the possibility of fewer students enrolling after the Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent death of MIT Officer Sean Collier. But Schmill said he thinks potential students recognized that Cambridge is a safe place, and that this was an isolated incident.

"I don't think there were families that saw what happened and thought of MIT as less safe than any other place," he said.

With the yield rate at an all-time high, no students will be admitted from off the wait list for the second consecutive year, Schmill said.

"We are pleased that so many students chose to enroll, but we were hoping to take some students off the wait list and we just couldn't do it," he said.

This year also marked a record low acceptance rate for MIT. The university accepted a total of 8.2 percent of the 18,989 candidates who applied.

At Harvard, 82 percent of admitted students plan to enroll, according to a statement from school officials. This year's yield rate is the highest yield since the 1960s.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Solomont, a Tufts alumnus and the founding board chair of Tisch College, will assume the role on Jan. 2, 2014, according to the statement. Tisch does not enroll students or grant degrees. Instead, the school works with Tufts faculty and students to “instill an entrepreneurial approach to civil engagement,” the statement said.

According to the university statement, Solomont’s wife, Susan, received an M.Ed. from Tufts in 1981, and his daughter Becca earned a bachelor of arts in child development in 2008. While he served as a Tisch College senior fellow, Solomont taught an undergraduate political science seminar on the American presidency.

"For me, returning to Tufts as the dean of Tisch College is coming home—to an institution I love and that has meant so much to me and my family," Solomont said in the statement. "I am excited to lead one of Tufts’ signature initiatives and to apply my passion for active citizenship and civic engagement to build on Tisch’s solid foundation and to propel it to new heights."

Solomont, a Weston native, has a reputation for being one of the Democratic Party’s most fruitful fundraisers. The Globe has reported that Solomont previously worked as chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and the Learn and Serve America programs.

"Alan has a range of characteristics that make him an attractive candidate for the deanship," David Harris, Tufts University provost and senior vice president, said in a phone interview, adding, "He not only has a connection to the place, he has a commitment to Tufts."

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

Babson College is launching a food waste diversion pilot program this summer at Trim Dining Hall through a joint initiative between Facilities Management, Sodexo Campus Services, and the Sustainability Office, according to a press release.

Based on preliminary waste audits and observations, an expected 1-2 tons per week of food waste will be diverted from the trash at Trim Dining Hall and be hauled by EOMS Recycling to local farms to be composted into soil.

“Through composting food waste at local farms and making local produce a priority, we are bringing it full circle,” said Sarah Bedore, a manager at Trim Dining Hall and Dining Services’ sustainability leader.

The pilot program at Trim Dining Hall is the first phase of Babson’s food waste diversion plan and will initially collect pre-consumer scraps from kitchen work stations.

The second phase will be centered on expanding collection of pre-consumer scraps to the Reynolds Campus Center.

Post-consumer food-waste will be collected in phase three.

“We are excited to pilot this program here at Babson, because we have found a solution that offers significant cost-savings and has been approved by the Town of Wellesley Board of Health,” said Steve Tolley of Facilities Management. Tipping and hauling costs for each ton of food waste are approximately one-third of the costs for traditional trash disposal.

Tolley has been researching strategies for food waste diversion for several years, from on-site processing options to hauling it to a proposed anaerobic digestion facility. Until recently, no diversion strategy met the dual goals of cost-effectiveness and environmental health and safety.

Across the state, food waste diversion programs have received a boost from new state regulations that apply to entities generating more than 1 ton of food waste per week.

These regulations prohibit food waste from being disposed of as trash as part of the State of Massachusetts’ recently released Solid Waste Master Plan.

“This pilot program at Trim is a valuable part of Babson’s efforts to increase its diversion rate and complements our waste reduction efforts in support of our sustainability goals,” said Alex Davis of the Sustainability Office.

All across the Babson campus there are staff, students, and faculty tackling issues of sustainability and resource efficiency and working to solve these integrated challenges.

To learn more about other Babson College Sustainability initiatives visit: http://www.babson.edu/about-babson/sustainability/Pages/home.aspx

A fledgling red-tailed hawk is preparing to make it's first flight from the nest atop Harvard's Maxwell Dworkin building. Photo by Brock Parker.

By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent

From atop the Maxwell Dworkin building, higher than a Harvard College student’s SAT score, the last of three fledgling red-tailed hawks is preparing for its maiden flight.

Passersby below along Oxford Street in Cambridge can be seen craning their necks for a look up at the baby hawk, which has courage enough to step out of the nest atop a fourth floor ledge, but is not ready to fly, just yet.

Next door, at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, staff members can be seen crowding at the windows, holding up cameras and snapping pictures of the fledgling hawk before it takes off.

The fledgling’s siblings, two of them, took flight over the weekend for the first time, said Andy Provost, a 66-year-old wildlife photographer who’s been watching the birds for a couple of weeks.

But the other hawks are still nearby. One of the siblings, likely a female, has been hanging out in a tree nearby that hangs over the sidewalk along Oxford Street. Another family member, possibly the bird’s mother, prefers to perch atop the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and made a visit to the last fledgling this morning.

Provost said the mother is very good mother, and one day while she was away from the nest it began to rain heavily. Within seconds, Provost said the mother had returned to the nest and spread her wings and tail to give shelter to her chicks.

“It’s really heartwarming to see,” he said.

Don Claflin, a facilities manager at Harvard, said hawks had been nesting in a tree near Pierce Hall a few years ago before a hawk began building a nest next door on the Maxwell Dworkin building about two years ago.

At the time, Claflin said he got the idea to mount a camera on the building to watch the hawk’s progress building the nest and he brought in some information technology experts at the college to assist. They mounted a camera on the building beside the nest, and put the feed from the camera up online.

The video soon became a hit, Claflin said, with Harvard staff constantly watching the hawk’s activities.

“I think they spend more time watching these birds than they do doing their work,” he said.

Then one day about two years ago Claflin got a call that the hawk wasn’t there. Then Susan Moses, Deputy Director of the Center for Health Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health, heard about a hawk that had been hit by a car nearby, and had been saved by the Animal Rescue League of Boston. The hawk was taken to Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton to heal, and when it was ready Moses brought the bird back to Harvard and released it.

Last year, Claflin said the bird did not nest at the Maxwell Dworkin building, but it returned to the nest this year and this spring laid eggs.

The camera caught most of the action, including the mother returning to the nests with squirrels and rats to feed the fledglings. Finally, the camera broke down on the day of Harvard’s commencement, Claflin said. A replacement camera has arrived, but Claflin said he’s been instructed that installing it right now may scare the remaining fledgling to jump off the roof before it is ready.

“I don’t want that on my conscience, then I’ll have everybody at Harvard blaming me for the death of the bird,” Claflin said.

But birdwatchers continue to keep a close eye on the fledglings and the other hawks flying around that part of the campus, though, Claflin said.

“Interest in the birds has really taken off,” he said.

Moses said she continues keeping a close eye on the hawks and their fledglings. She said that over the weekend after two of the fledglings left the nest for the first time, the third fledgling that had been left behind made a distressed sound as if it missed its siblings.

Moses said the mother then flew to the nest and seemed to comfort the one remaining fledgling. It’s the type of interaction that she thinks helps pique people’s interest in the birds.

“They really have individual personalities,” Moses said. “They communicate with each other. Nature is really fascinating.”

--Brock.globe@gmail.com

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Two professors in Illinois have determined that a piece of Abraham Lincoln’s math homework, currently housed in the Harvard archives, is part of a larger arithmetic manuscript. According to archivists, this problem set is the earliest surviving Lincoln document.

“There is nothing that predates it,” said Leslie Morris, the curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts at the Harvard Houghton Library.

Morris said that the leaflet, which has been at Harvard since 1954, was originally part of a collection from Lincoln’s law partner.

“It has a lot of resonance for people,” she said. “Not only is this the earliest surviving document from one of the country’s most beloved presidents, it is a document that everyone can identify with.”

According to a joint statement released by Illinois State University and the Houghton Library, the leaflet at Harvard is the eleventh leaf in Lincoln’s arithmetic set. Lincoln completed the document while attending schools in Indiana between the years of 1820 and 1826, the statement said.

The problem sets included the following questions:

If the tuition of 3 boys for two quarters of a year be $40-20 cts how much will the tuition of 60 boys amount to for 4½ years?

If 4 men in 5 days eat 7 lb. of bread, how much will be sufficient for 16 men in 15 days?

If 100 dollars in one year gain 3½ dollars interest, what sum will gain $38.50 cents in one year and a quarter?

Nerida Ellerton and Ken Clements, the professors who figured out that the separate documents were part of a larger manuscript, said in the statement that Lincoln was a very good math student.

“The solutions to the mathematics problems in Lincoln's manuscript show that the young Abraham not only knew what he was doing, but also that he understood the mathematical principles he was applying," said Clements and Ellerton. "Almost all of his problem solutions were correct."

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Christina Jedra, Globe Correspondent

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Following a year marked by tragedy, speakers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology commencement ceremony reflected on community members they had lost, while capturing the spirit of the graduating class.

As he delivered the invocation, Chaplain Robert Randolph recalled numerous deaths at MIT this year, including the death of a visiting scientist, death of a graduate student, and the loss of MIT Officer Sean Collier, allegedly killed by the two Marathon bombing suspects.

Randolph said that the MIT campus, previously regarded as a place outside of the real world, is now very much a part of it.

“We have felt that distance vanish,” Randolph said. “This is the real world…there are no safe places.”

In his speech to the class, President L. Rafael Reif spoke of the Marathon bombings, and how he received letters from strangers who had fled the scene and found shelter in MIT fraternities and sororities. They simply wanted to say, thank you.

“A few days later, the tragedy of the Marathon bombings arrived at our own campus,” Reif said. “And the whole world saw what I saw: the extraordinary outpouring of respect and gratitude for our beloved MIT Police. And the loving sympathy that flowed from the heart of this family to the family of Officer Sean Collier. I’ve never felt so proud to be part of MIT.”

At a dreary ceremony, the rain poured down onto the crowd of approximately 13,000 people, many of whom were sporting ponchos handed out at the entrances. School officials were also distributed aluminum blankets, with the elderly guests being the first priority.

Security was tight. Guests were not permitted to bring in food or drink, and all bags and jackets were thoroughly searched. Security guards required that those with a computer turn it on, to demonstrate its functionality.

At the start of the commencement, a brass band played as the graduates and other honorary guests filed in. Guests spoke in numerous languages. One graduate stood on top of his chair, furiously waving at his family members.

Reif also urged the class of 2013 to “change the source code” of society.

“Rewire the circuits. Rearrange the molecules. Reformulate the equation. In short, I want you to hack the world, until you make the world a little more MIT,” he said. “More daring and more passionate. More rigorous, inventive, and ambitious. More humble, more respectful, more generous, and more kind.”

Drew Houston, an MIT alumnus and the CEO of Dropbox, told the graduates to find a line of work that they are obsessed with.

“So I was going to say work on what you love, but that’s not helpful. It’s so easy to convince yourself that you love what you do,” Houston said. “When I think about it, the happiest and most successful people I know don’t just love what they do, they’re obsessed.”

He called building Dropbox the most “exciting, interesting, and fulfilling experiences of my life.” But Houston also said that starting a company has also “ been the most painful, humiliating, and frustrating experience too, and I can’t even count the number of things that have gone wrong.”

“Fortunately, it doesn’t matter,” Houston said. “No one has a 5.0 in real life.”

Houston said that Bill Gates’s first company made software for traffic lights. And Steve Jobs’ first company made plastic whistles that enabled the user to make free phone calls.

“Neither were too successful, but it’s hard to imagine they were too upset about it.” Houston said. “That’s my favorite thing that changes today. From now on, failure doesn’t matter: you only have to be right once.”

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

As adjunct faculty at Bentley University push forward with their plans to unionize, the administration has approved a substantial pay raise for part-time professors -- a move that school officials say was independent of the adjunct's campaign for better wages and benefits.

The university wrote in a statement that earlier this semester, Bentley’s Academic Affairs Administration approved a wage increase, from $4,575 to $5,000 per course, or a 9.29 percent increase, for its undergraduate adjunct faculty. Graduate adjuncts will now make $5,250 instead of $5,050 per class, a 3.55 percent increase.

The new wages will take effect July 1, according to the university.

According to the university’s statement,a task force formed in 2010 recommended that adjunct pay be reviewed every two years.

But Bentley adjunct Jack Dempsey said although the increase seems significant -- a 38.9 percent increase for the overall salary -- over the past ten years, adjunct pay has only increased 3.3 percent per year. The faculty learned of the raise at the end of May, he said.

“It is an awesome raise, but it is still less than minimum wage” when factoring in the number of hours an adjunct works, Dempsey said.

Dempsey said that 60 adjuncts out of 180 have voted in favor of an election to decide whether to unionize the Bentley part-time faculty. The election will be held in late September, he said.

The hope, Dempsey said, is for adjunct faculty to make half of a full-time assistant professor. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the average full-time professor makes $55,000. Dempsey said an adjunct who teaches four courses a year should be making half of that salary.

“I don’t know how to argue for less than equality,” he said. “We are going to be asking for equal pay for equal work.”

Bentley adjuncts have partnered with the Service Employees International Union, an organization that has unionized more than 15,000 adjunct professors from across the country. Dempsey said that Bentley is part of a broader trend: the SEIU is now working with adjuncts from several Boston-area schools to advocate for better wages and working conditions.

According to the SEIU, in 2011, part-time faculty held 50 percent of teaching jobs at colleges, up from 34 percent in 1987 and 22 percent in 1970. Among private, non-profit schools in the Boston-area, 66.8 percent of faculty are non-tenure track and 42 percent are part-time.

In a letter sent this week from the adjunct faculty to Bentley administrators, the professors wrote that the goal of the union is to increase the value and reputation of the school.

“We are dedicated members of the Bentley community and we are proud to be part of a business school that does so much to keep ethics and social responsibility at the fore of its curriculum,” the letter said. “But values and leadership will suffer when one segment of the faculty is asked to support them on a wholly unequal and unlivable basis.”

Bentley said in the statement that the school values its part-time professors. For example, the arts and sciences adjuncts and business adjuncts are paid at the same rate, which the university says is unusual. Typically, business adjuncts are paid more than their arts and sciences counterparts.

The statement also said that “currently Bentley is one of the few universities where adjuncts have representation on the Faculty Senate. This reflects the University’s view that our adjuncts are an integral part of the Bentley.”

But Dempsey said that the university needs to treat its adjuncts better, by increasing part-time faculty salaries to the liveable wage.

“We’re just realizing if we don’t stand up for ourselves and our value, nobody will,” he said.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Following a semester filled with security incidents, MIT has announced that it will step up safety measures at graduation ceremonies Friday.

On Friday, more than 13,000 guests are anticipated to attend MIT’s commencement excersizes, according to a statement released by the university. MIT alumnus Drew Houston, the CEO and co-founder of Dropbox, will deliver the address.

“Commencement attendees should expect increased security measures for events on both Thursday and Friday,” the statement said.

MIT officials said in the statement that metal detectors will be at the commencement entrance. A number of items including backpacks, large bags, large objects, wrapped gifts, pocket knives, and all bottles will be prohibited. Security officials will be searching purses and diaper bags.

The statement also said that guests with electronic devices will be asked to turn them on “to demonstrate their use.” Attendees are also advised to bring a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID card, or passport.

The school’s announcement follows a semester of cybersecurity breaches, a hoax report of a gunman on campus, and the murder of an MIT police officer while he was on duty.

In the weeks after Internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide, the MIT Campus network was hacked at least three times, and Swartz was mentioned by name in a minimum of two of the attacks.

Swartz killed himself in January, following a two-year legal battle in which he faced a number of charges for hacking into the JSTOR archive system on the MIT network. He allegedly downloaded more than 4 million articles, some of which were behind a paywall. A number of Swartz’s supporters have blamed his death on MIT and the legal system.

In late February, the Globe reported that an unidentified caller falsely reported that a gunman was on the MIT campus. Several days after the hoax, an MIT official confirmed that the caller said the gunman was seeking revenge for Swartz’s suicide, and that the gunman planned to shoot the school’s president.

Then in a bizarre and tragic twist of events, the pair of brothers accused of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings engaged in gunfire with police officials on MIT’s campus in April. While sitting in his cruiser, MIT Police officer Sean Collier, 26, was shot and killed.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

A Bentley University basketball player died Monday after collapsing at a men's recreational summer league game in Watertown, university officials said.

Joseph "Joey" Glynn, 19, collapsed Monday evening and was taken to Mount Auburn Hospital, according to a statement from University President Gloria Cordes Larson.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to Joey’s family, friends, classmates, teammates and professors as they struggle to comprehend the sudden loss of such a vibrant young life," Larson said in the statement.

Glynn, an Abington native, graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in 2012 where he was a two-time Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic, Larson wrote. He served for two years as the captain of his basketball team, was the football captain his senior year, and lettered in baseball.

As a junior, he had the distinction of playing at Gillette Stadium and TD Garden. He scored the Cardinals' only touchdown in a 21-7 loss to Holliston in the Div. 3A Super Bowl at Gillette in December. Later that winter, he led the basketball team to the Div. 3 South title before losing to Watertown at TD Garden.

According to Glynn's biography on the Bentley website, the 6-foot-5 forward averaged 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a freshman last season.

Program director and coach Mike Crotty Jr.praised Glynn in a story posted on ESPN Boston.

"I loved the kid, he was a great person," Crotty told ESPN Boston. "He was quiet until you got to know him, and then he was a funny kid with a great personality that everyone responded to. He was a great brother to all of his sisters, the kind of son you would want to have -- didn't do anything wrong, did what he was asked. If I had a daughter someday, my hope is that she would meet a guy like Joey Glynn."

Glynn received a full scholarship to Bentley, according to a statement published on the New England Recruiting Report website in February 2012.

Crotty praised Glynn in the report, calling him a "tough competitor" and a "versatile" athlete.

“He is a tremendous rebounder on both ends of the floor, and his athleticism allows him to be a lock down defender on forwards and guards," Crotty told the Report, adding, “I believe that his [Glynn’s] will to win, work ethic, and toughness will allow him to make an immediate and profound impact at Bentley."

As news of Glynn's death spread, community members took to Twitter to offer their condolences.

Tragic news last night with the passing of Joey Glynn. Thoughts are with the Cardinal Spellman, Bentley and Middlesex Magic communities.

— NEHoopNews (@NEHoopNews) June 4, 2013

Rip to Joey glynn kid played so hard onboth ends of the court. A solider thoughts and prayers to family and middlesex magic.

— Sherwyn Cooper (@BallasTV) June 4, 2013

Can't even believe what I'm reading this morning. Thoughts and prayers go out to Joey Glynn's family. #RIP #falcon

— Brian Shea (@IAmBrianShea) June 4, 2013

Larson said that Bentley staff are providing support for Glynn's teammates and peers. He leaves behind Joseph and Susan Glynn, and his four sisters, Kelly, Sarah, Stephanie and Ashley.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.

By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Local colleges and universities are hiking tuition costs by an average of 3 to 4 percent for next year, with some school officials calling the increases among the lowest in recent history.

Suffolk University has announced it will increase undergraduate tuition prices by 3 percent for next year, making it the smallest increase in 36 years.

The president of Suffolk University, James McCarthy, said in a statement that rates for the 2013 to 2014 school year will be $31,592, up $920 from this year.

"The undergraduate increase is built upon a base Suffolk University tuition that remains among the lowest of comparable New England institutions," McCarthy said in the statement.

At MIT, tuition and fees will cost $43,498, compared to $42,050 for this year, for a 3.4 percent increase. Officials called the hike among the lowest in recent decades.

And at Boston University, prices are expected to rise 3.7 next year to $43,970. In a statement, university officials called the new tuition price “one of the lowest rates of increase among BU’s peer universities.”

Among other local schools:

- Emerson College will raise its tuition by 4.5 percent, from $33,568 this year to $35,072 next year.

- Boston College plans to hike prices by 4 percent, from $43,140 to $44,870.

- Northeastern University’s rates will break the $40K mark -- from $39,320 last year to $40,780 next year.

But the University of Massachusetts system is pushing for a major increase in funding from the state -- an additional $39 million -- which could keep tuition rates at a standstill.

The Globe reported in late May that elected student trustees from the University of Massachusetts system are calling on Senate officials to approve a $478 million funding proposal from Governor Deval Patrick. If the proposal passes, UMass officials have said that the university system could freeze tuition and fees for next year.

Some schools are saying that the new rates will be offset by financial aid budgets that are at a “historic high.”

MIT officials said that the undergraduate financial aid budget has risen to a record $97.6 million.

“MIT has more than tripled its spending on financial aid since 2000 - a rate of growth that far exceeds tuition and fee increases during that same period - as part of the Institute’s ongoing efforts to shield students and families from the impact of price increases,” the university said in the statement.

And Northeastern University has announced that it will invest the largest amount of financial aid in the school’s 115-year history, providing a total of $204 million in grant aid for next year.

But other schools will be giving out financial aid to less students. For example at Boston University, approximately 53 percent of students will receive grant aid, which is down from 57 percent for this past year.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

Looking for more coverage of area colleges and universities? Go to our Your Campus pages.