BetsyDeVos
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Huawei says concerns over US research funding are ignorant
Last week, over two dozen Republican and Democratic members of Congress, led by Representative Jim Banks (R-IN) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), sent Education Secretary Betsy DeVos a letter, urging her to investigate a university funding program put forward by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. In the letter, the lawmakers requested that she collect information from US universities involved in any research partnerships with the company and put together a working group "to understand how the People's Republic of China attempts to gather US technology on US university and college campuses and to develop recommendations (especially for those institutions that receive any kind of federal funding) for protecting the US technology advantage." Now, Reuters reports, Huawei Chairman Eric Xu has called Rubio and Banks "closed-minded and ill-informed."
Tech companies support Trump’s STEM education plan (updated)
Yesterday, Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum that directed the Secretary of Education to prioritize STEM and computer science education. The directive includes establishing a goal to put $200 million per year towards expanding this type of education in K-12 programs and higher education establishments along with a requirement that the Secretary submit a report at the end of each fiscal year that summarizes the steps taken towards promoting STEM and computer science education.
The future of STEM education is cloudy under Betsy DeVos
This week the United States Senate confirmed Betsy Devos as the new secretary of education. Despite a shaky performance during her committee hearings, where she seemed to suggest guns belonged in schools to defend against grizzly bear attacks, DeVos managed to clear all the necessary hurdles to become part of Trump's cabinet. But it wasn't easy: Vice President Mike Pence had to be summoned to the Senate floor to break a 50-50 tie, after two senators from his own Republican party opposed her nomination.
Who is Jerry Falwell Jr. and why is he reforming higher education?
Donald Trump has already earned his reputation of nominating candidates for his cabinet-level positions who face stiff opposition from the science and tech community. He's given the nod to former Texas Governor Rick Perry, who once called on Congress to abolish the Department of Energy that he now heads, and EPA nominee Scott Pruitt, who, as Oklahoma attorney general, sued the EPA no fewer than 14 times. On Tuesday, Trump continued this streak by tapping Jerry Falwell Jr. to head up a presidential task force charged with suggesting reforms for the Department of Education.
