Note from the news editors: UM News Briefs are a new segment from The Miami Hurricane. News briefs provide a weekly snapshot of life at the University of Miami, in Miami and sometimes around the state, country or world. Stay up to date with UM News Briefs.
THIS WEEK AT THE U
UM joins the Association of American Universities
The University of Miami has been chosen as one of the newest members of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a national organization of leading research universities founded in 1900. The invitation follows the University’s research and sponsored program expenditures totaling more than $413 million in the 2022 fiscal year.
Arizona State University, the George Washington University, the University of California, Riverside, the University of Notre Dame and the University of South Florida also received invitations to join the AAU this year. The six leading research universities bring AAU’s membership to 71 institutions, 69 American and two Canadian universities.
“We are very proud to have these six distinguished universities from across the United States join AAU,” said AAU President Barbara R. Snyder in a statement. “We look forward to working with all of these universities to continue advancing higher education and laying the scientific foundation that helps keep our economy strong and our nation healthy and safe.”
U KNOW MIAMI
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo found liable; awards plaintiffs $63M
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo was found liable in a federal civil lawsuit filed by two businessmen who accused him of attempting to destroy their businesses by means of political retaliation.
Jurors returned the verdict on Thursday, after less than a day of deliberation and found that Carollo violated the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights and awarded them over $63 million.
Bill and Marin, the businessmen behind the Ball and Chain restaurant and club in Little Havana, filed the lawsuit against Carollo claiming that the commissioner weaponized the city’s police to shut down their businesses because they supported his political opponent.
During the seven-week trial, witnesses testified that Carollo used the City of Miami departments to target the plaintiffs’ businesses.
Carollo’s attorneys argued that Carollo was a victim of harassment and was simply doing his job. Their evidence consisted of a series of violations where the plaintiffs began to do construction work without permits and then worked to get into compliance after being cited.
IN CASE U MISSED IT
The GRE test is getting cut in half
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), the almost four-hour exam dreaded by many aspiring graduate students, is getting cut in half. The new exam will take less than two hours.
The Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit organization that administers the test, announced the changes Wednesday, May 31, acknowledging the test’s declining weight in graduate school admissions decisions.
Changes to the test include 46 fewer questions on the test’s quantitative and verbal reasoning sections and the elimination of an analytical writing task and an unscored section. Other changes include a faster release of scores.
The organization is planning on implementing these changes on the tests being administered in September.