Latest news with #EasternMichiganUniversity
CBS News
18-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Ford Lake's new rowing course hosts one of the sport's biggest national events
Some of the best rowers in the country are all gathering in Washtenaw County, Michigan, for one of the largest community rowing events in the United States. Rowfest kicked off on July 12 and continues through July 20. The national competition makes its first trip to Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, and it likely won't be the last. All boats were in the water at Ford Lake at some point in the past week, or will race at some point during the weekend, thanks to the community investment in this new championship-level course. It now joins just a handful of other courses that can accommodate this many races over this many days at this level of competition. "We want to bring sporting tournaments and events to Washtenaw County," said Ann Arbor Sports Commission Director Meaghan Hughes. If you build it, they will come, and that's exactly what the Ann Arbor Sports Commission, Eastern Michigan University, and Ypsilanti Township pulled off at Ford Lake. "We've been hearing amazing feedback and are already hearing that people are talking about this premier rowing course. Now we are the talk of the rowing world and can continue bringing large rowing events like this to Washtenaw County," Hughes said. Highes says this championship-level rowing course isn't only the first in Michigan, but it's also only one of 13 in the entire country, a big selling point not only in their bid for future junior and masters championships, but also for potential NCAA events. "It's so rare in the United States to have a venue that has an eight-lane course and tons of room to warm up and cool down. The space is amazing," said U.S. Rowing Communications Director Gail Zaharek. Zaharek also says you don't get a course of this caliber without a community that wants to see rowing thrive here. "To find a community that's willing to invest like that in the sport is hugely helpful, and we're so grateful," she said. U.S. Rowing says the course's distance from the airport and places to stay, eat, and relax during downtime also makes this a location that will attract rowers from across the country. It's also a big reason why we're seeing states like Colorado, Florida, Connecticut, and Illinois represented in this event. It's also an opportunity for new rowers to be introduced to the sport through U.S. Rowing's learn-to-row programs.
Washington Post
01-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Harvard is the wealthiest U.S. university. Can it survive a Trump standoff?
The Trump administration's escalating battle with Harvard University, including renewing a threat this week to pull all of its federal funding, poses an unprecedented challenge to the financial footing of America's wealthiest college. Harvard is in a better financial position than any of its peers to resist President Donald Trump's efforts to force higher education to align with his political ideology. But its costs have risen in recent years and a significant portion of its endowment is locked up in long-term investments. Harvard's massive $53 billion endowment is often seen as a financial shield, but most of those funds have restrictions on how they are spent. In a sign of the university's limited ability to tap its existing financial reserves, administrators tapped the bond market in March to raise $450 million in debt and another $750 million in April. While Harvard periodically issues bonds, the pace picked up this year. 'With its resources and an AAA bond rating, Harvard has financial freedom and flexibility. Still, these headwinds, and there are a lot of them, are piling up all at once,' said Howard Bunsis, an accounting professor at Eastern Michigan University. Harvard and the Trump administration have been in a tense standoff for months. On Monday, the administration threatened to withdraw all of Harvard's federal funding, saying a federal investigation found the school violated civil rights law by failing to protect Jewish students on campus from discrimination. In court documents, the university responded that in a rush to inflict punishment, the government had not documented any meaningful investigation into antisemitism at Harvard. Before that, the Trump administration had frozen billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard. The university has challenged the order in court. Trump has countered with threats to end Harvard's tax-exempt status, restrictions on international students and scholars who want to attend the university, investigations into its operations, cancellation of contracts and a declaration that the school wouldn't receive new government grants. Since the federal government began demanding the university change how it operates in April, Harvard has lost more than $2 billion in federal funding. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are considering legislation that would increase the tax on Harvard's endowment earnings from 1.4 percent to 8 percent, which could cost the university hundreds of millions a year. The attacks on Harvard are part of a wider battle the Trump administration is waging against universities it says have allowed antisemitic behavior on campus or have allegedly discriminated against White students through their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Last week, the president of the University of Virginia resigned to spare the school a costly fight with the Trump administration over DEI. Trump administration officials have said they hoped to strike a deal with Harvard, but it's unclear how willing the university, which has secured several court wins, will be to compromise. Still, the administration's efforts pose an unprecedented financial challenge to Harvard, which has already taken steps to save money and mitigate the impact of federal funding cuts. It paused hiring, halted merit pay raises and instructed department heads to plan for budget cuts. Harvard's president, Alan M. Garber, is taking a 25 percent pay cut starting this month. 'It's a very strategic and reasonable strategy to try to conserve cash and have at the ready as many different types of liquid resources to bridge the uncertainty,' said Lisa Washburn, managing director of research firm Municipal Market Analytics. Harvard also tapped the financial markets for more than $1 billion in short-term funding, so far, this year, but it's not alone. Universities issued a record $12.3 billion in bonds in the first three months of the year, the highest amount since the first quarter of 2009 during the Great Recession, according to Municipal Market Analytics. Debt financing is part of its 'ongoing contingency planning for a range of financial circumstances,' Harvard said in a statement. In May, Harvard set aside $250 million to offset the loss of federal research funding. 'Although we cannot absorb the entire cost of the suspended or canceled federal funds, we will mobilize financial resources to support critical research activity for a transitional period,' Garber and Provost John F. Manning wrote in a statement when the move was announced. Still, the university's expenses are significant and already under pressure. Harvard ended fiscal 2024 with an operating surplus of $45 million, compared with $186 million the previous year, which the university attributes to rising costs, including investing in its workforce. That leaves it with less financial wiggle room in an emergency. Critics and supporters of the university — including former president Barack Obama, a Harvard alumnus — have argued the school should tap more of its $53 billion endowment to weather a potentially lengthy fight with the Trump administration. 'If Harvard prefers not to change, then Harvard should have no problem using its overflowing endowment to fund its bloated bureaucracy,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a letter to the university's president in May after the Trump administration said it would cut off Harvard's access to new federal grants. Spending more of its endowment 'would not have any significant negative effect,' said Bunsis, the Eastern Michigan University professor. 'The world would not end as we know it, and their endowments would be fine.' But the university has limited access to its endowment and already depends on it for a significant portion of its operating budget. And about 80 percent of Harvard's endowment, a collection of 14,000 funds, is restricted to uses that donors stipulate, and the university cannot change the terms of those gifts — some dating back to the founding of the school — on its own. The endowment is designed to support students, faculty, research and operations in perpetuity, and some financial experts say redirecting funds to cover short-term financial pressure could jeopardize that mission. Harvard did not respond to questions about whether it plans to spend more of its endowment. 'You might be able to liquidate some unrestricted endowment dollars and perhaps cover the [federal research funding] shortfall for a year or two, but you can't possibly recreate those funds from endowment,' said Tim Yates of Commonfund OCIO. Complicating Harvard's financial plans has been its investment in private equity funds, a strategy pioneered by Yale University. These types of investments have helped many elite universities achieve higher returns than they could with traditional stocks and bonds. The Harvard Management Company, which oversees the endowment, began investing in private equity in the 1980s and became more aggressive in recent years. Over the past decade, the portion of the endowment invested in private equity has nearly doubled, to about 40 percent. The university's 'major portfolio shift' toward private equity helped the endowment produce better returns in the last fiscal year, HMC chief executive N.P. Narvekar wrote in the school's 2024 financial report. The endowment reported a 9.6 percent return last year, compared with 2.9 percent the previous year. However, he wrote, 'for the second year in a row, private equity returns lagged those of public equity markets.' And private equity comes with risks, including that it is harder to access the money once it's invested. Often, private equity firms buy companies, locking the money up for years until the company is sold or holds an initial public offering. Compounding the difficulties for private equity investors has been a decline in the number of IPOs and mergers in recent years, transactions that traditionally allowed them to cash out of their positions. 'Few would contest that the past few years in private equity have been the industry's most challenging period since the global financial crisis,' Bain & Company, a private investment firm, said in a recent market analysis. Harvard put portions of its private equity holdings up for sale to other investors in 2017 and 2021. In 2024, it began exploring the sale of another $1 billion of its private equity holdings. The sale would make more funds available for new investment opportunities and to meet commitments to private equity firms to invest more money, according to a person close to Harvard Management Company, who asked not to be named to talk about sensitive financial information. Other universities have taken similar steps. Yale, for example, is negotiating the sale of nearly $3 billion of its private equity portfolio to pursue new investment opportunities, according to the university. Harvard has about $8.2 billion in unfunded private equity commitments coming due in the near term, said Michael Markov, co-founder and chairman of the research firm Markov Processes International. Finding the money to cover those kinds of commitments could put tremendous pressure on universities with large private equity stakes, he said. Academic freedom is at the heart of Harvard's challenges, but it's also facing financial constraints, said Philip Casey, founder and chief executive of Institutional LPs. 'It's just this perfect storm of academic freedom in the crosshairs at the same time that the universities are vulnerable because of the financial uncertainties associated with their endowments and their private equity investments,' he said.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maxx Crosby named Eastern Michigan football assistant G.M.
Maxx Crosby has a new job. Eastern Michigan has named Crosby Assistant General Manager for its football program. While Crosby will continue his playing career, he now has an official position where he played his college ball. Advertisement "There is no place more important to my personal and athletic development than Eastern Michigan University,' Crosby said in a statement released by EMU. 'It truly is an honor for me to not only be named the Assistant GM of the EMU, but together with my wife Rachel, make another donation aimed at creating opportunities for other athletes to be impacted by the EMU program, community, students, and alumni.' According to the program's release, Crosby will assist in evaluating high school and transfer portal prospects, help manage the team's NIL/revenue share budget, and assist the program in fundraising, alumni relations, and student-athlete support. While several former players have taken on G.M. roles at their colleges, Crosby is the first active player to do so. EMU is also renaming its 'LEO' defensive position to 'MAXX' and the team's top edge rusher will wear No. 92, which Crosby wore while with the Eagles. Advertisement 'It's always special when former players return to be part of our staff, and this is truly a full-circle moment,' EMU head coach Chris Creighton said in a statement. 'There's something powerful about staying in one place and building something meaningful over time — Maxx is a shining example. He has already positively impacted our program, and now we're taking it to another level. His passion for mentoring and developing our players is inspiring. I mean, how many people have a position named after them? That's got to be a first. Big-time edge rushers will want to come here—not just to play but to build a relationship with Maxx and learn from one of the best. We just finished up a really good spring and are fired up for our future.' Crosby recorded 20.0 career sacks at EMU, setting the program's single-season sack record with 11 in 2017. He also had 41.0 tackles for loss at the program. The Raiders selected Crosby in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He's registered 59.5 sacks, 105 tackles for loss, and 144 QB hits in his 95 career games for the franchise. Las Vegas signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million extension last month, briefly making him the league's highest-paid non-quarterback before Myles Garrett's extension eclipsed the mark.
NBC Sports
14-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Maxx Crosby named Eastern Michigan football assistant G.M.
Maxx Crosby has a new job. Eastern Michigan has named Crosby Assistant General Manager for its football program. While Crosby will continue his playing career, he now has an official position where he played his college ball. 'There is no place more important to my personal and athletic development than Eastern Michigan University,' Crosby said in a statement released by EMU. 'It truly is an honor for me to not only be named the Assistant GM of the EMU, but together with my wife Rachel, make another donation aimed at creating opportunities for other athletes to be impacted by the EMU program, community, students, and alumni.' According to the program's release, Crosby will assist in evaluating high school and transfer portal prospects, help manage the team's NIL/revenue share budget, and assist the program in fundraising, alumni relations, and student-athlete support. While several former players have taken on G.M. roles at their colleges, Crosby is the first active player to do so. EMU is also renaming its 'LEO' defensive position to 'MAXX' and the team's top edge rusher will wear No. 92, which Crosby wore while with the Eagles. 'It's always special when former players return to be part of our staff, and this is truly a full-circle moment,' EMU head coach Chris Creighton said in a statement. 'There's something powerful about staying in one place and building something meaningful over time — Maxx is a shining example. He has already positively impacted our program, and now we're taking it to another level. His passion for mentoring and developing our players is inspiring. I mean, how many people have a position named after them? That's got to be a first. Big-time edge rushers will want to come here—not just to play but to build a relationship with Maxx and learn from one of the best. We just finished up a really good spring and are fired up for our future.' Crosby recorded 20.0 career sacks at EMU, setting the program's single-season sack record with 11 in 2017. He also had 41.0 tackles for loss at the program. The Raiders selected Crosby in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He's registered 59.5 sacks, 105 tackles for loss, and 144 QB hits in his 95 career games for the franchise. Las Vegas signed Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million extension last month, briefly making him the league's highest-paid non-quarterback before Myles Garrett's extension eclipsed the mark.
CBS News
06-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
Eastern Michigan University hosting Women's History Month events honoring women leaders
Eastern Michigan University is celebrating Women's History Month with a series of events throughout the month of March. The free events in Ypsilanti, Michigan, aim to highlight the contributions and achievements of women in different fields. EMU's Women's History Month events International Women's Day celebration (March 4 at the EMU Student Center Ballroom): This event includes an international panel discussion, cultural engagement, and a mix-and-mingle. Women of Color symposium (March 11 at the EMU Student Center Ballroom): This event will discuss wellness, resistance, and activism. EmpowHER conference and gala (March 19 at the EMU McKenny Hall Ballroom): This event features guest speakers Staci Williams and Black Educators Alliance chief executive officer Timothy Hill and a Heart2Heart Talk Show panel. Women of Excellence award ceremony and luncheon (March 26 at the EMU Student Center): This event honors students, faculty and community leaders and features keynote speaker Tiffany Mensah from D.O.V.E.S. Network. For more information on the events, visit EMU's website. According to The Library of Congress, Women's History Month originated in 1981 as "Women's History Week." At the time, Congress passed a resolution authorizing the president to proclaim the week beginning March 7 as the time to celebrate women. Over the next few years, Congress passed resolutions authorizing the president to proclaim the entire month of March as "Women's History Month." Presidents have issued annual proclamations for March as Women's History Month since 1995.
