None of Arizona’s Three Universities Ranked Within Top 100 of Best National Universities

None of Arizona’s Three Universities Ranked Within Top 100 of Best National Universities

By Corinne Murdock |

Of nearly 400 national universities, none of Arizona’s three public universities broke the top 100 on the latest rankings of national universities. The lowest-ranked school was Northern Arizona University (NAU) at 288, followed by Arizona State University (ASU) at 117, and then University of Arizona (UArizona) at 103. 

This data came from the U.S. News 2022 college rankings.

NAU tied for their 288 ranking with 10 other schools, barely eking out a ranking at all. After 288, U.S. News ranked each school without specificity in a range of 299 to 391. Among those not given a specific ranking were University of Phoenix and Grand Canyon University.

The 10 schools tied with NAU were Dallas Baptist University in Texas, East Tennessee State University, Long Island University in New York, Marshall University in West Virginia, Middle Tennessee State University, Portland State University in Oregon, South Dakota State University, University of Hawaii at Hilo, University of Puerto Rico – Rico Piedras, and University of Texas at Arlington.

NAU averaged a six-year graduation rate of 55 percent, with those who didn’t receive a Pell Grant doing better (61 percent) than those who did (50 percent).  

NAU’s median starting salary for alumni is $48,100, and average an acceptance rate of 82 percent. 

ASU tied for their 117 ranking with four other schools: Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in New York, University of South Carolina, and University of Vermont. 

ASU averaged a six-year graduation rate of 69 percent, with those who didn’t receive a Pell Grant doing better (71 percent) than those who did (59 percent). 

ASU ranked 1 for most innovative school, 10 for best undergraduate teaching, tied at 54 for top public schools, tied at 70 for best colleges for veterans, 139 for best value schools, and tied at 179 for top performers on social mobility.

ASU’s median starting salary for alumni is $54,400, and average an acceptance rate of 88 percent.

UArizona tied for their 103 ranking with 13 other schools: Clark University in Massachusetts, Creighton University in Nebraska, Drexel University in Pennsylvania, Loyola University Chicago in Illinois, Miami University in Ohio, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Saint Louis University in Missouri, Temple University in Pennsylvania, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Illinois Chicago, University of San Francisco in California, University of South Florida, and University of Tennessee Knoxville. 

UArizona averaged a six-year graduation rate of 64 percent, with those who didn’t receive a Pell Grant doing better (68 percent) than those who did (59 percent). 

UArizona tied at 46 for most innovative school and for top public school, tied at 62 for best colleges for veterans, ranked 122 for best value school, and tied at 143 for top performers on social mobility.

UArizona’s median starting salary for alumni is $55,600, and average an acceptance rate of 85 percent. 

The top ten national universities were, in order: Princeton University ranked at 1; Columbia University, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology tied at 2; Yale University ranked at 5; Stanford University and University of Chicago tied at 6; University of Pennsylvania ranked at 8; and California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, and Northwestern University tied at 9. 

The remaining three of the eight Ivy League schools — Brown University, Cornell University, and Dartmouth College — fell outside the top 10 but ranked within the top 20. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Arizona Department of Education Gives University of Arizona $1.2 Million for ‘Identity Exploration’

Arizona Department of Education Gives University of Arizona $1.2 Million for ‘Identity Exploration’

By Corinne Murdock |

$1.2 million from the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) will fund the University of Arizona’s (UArizona) “identity exploration” efforts for indigenous children.

Specifically, the grant was awarded to the Native Student Outreach, Access, and Resiliency (SOAR) program within UArizona’s College of Education. Native SOAR is a “multigenerational mentoring program culturally grounded in indigenous teachings and Ways of Knowing.” 

Native SOAR Director Amanda Cheromiah explained in a press release that the program uses culturally responsive teaching to improve indigenous students’ college enrollment. Culturally responsive teaching aligns with the controversial Critical Race Theory (CRT). 

“Historically, Indigenous students have lower enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in higher education compared to other student populations,” said Cheromiah. “Native SOAR closes educational gaps by providing culturally responsive programming and mentorship that increases the number of indigenous students who enter and graduate from college.”

The program also promotes other, similar controversial ideologies such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and concepts like systemic racism.

“Advocating for access and equity is personal/exhausting, [especially] when you are constantly centering the uninformed with the realities of genocide, slavery, and institutional racism,” tweeted Native SOAR. 

The 10-week program has UArizona students mentor middle and high school students for three to four hours a week on college, cultural resilience, leadership, and identity exploration. It also offers students a class worth three university credits per semester. 

The grant will enable the purchase of 750 tablets loaded with the mentoring resources for students, and 65 tablets for program staff and educators. It will also pay for more workshops and K-12 educators’ professional development opportunities.

Since its inception in 2005, the Native SOAR program has earned national recognitions, including one by former First Lady Michelle Obama. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Biden Administration Plans to Use School Meal Funds Policy to Punish AZ Schools Rejecting LGBTQ+ Ideology

Biden Administration Plans to Use School Meal Funds Policy to Punish AZ Schools Rejecting LGBTQ+ Ideology

By Corinne Murdock |

Arizona schools that prohibit students from using bathrooms or locker rooms, or joining sports teams designated for the opposite sex, will likely lose their federal funds for school meals. Federal dollars reimburse schools for qualifying meals, and give low-income students free or reduced-price meals. Throughout the pandemic, schools were able to provide free meals to all students and receive greater reimbursements.

The policy change came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announcement last month, clarifying that protected classes within anti-discrimination policy included sexual orientation and gender identity. Schools that fail to update policies and signage to comply with the USDA policy would result in the loss of FNS funding.

The USDA claimed that the move aligned with President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Preventing and Combatting Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. 

Although the USDA notification made no mention of bathrooms, locker rooms, or sports teams, Biden’s executive order did in its first few lines. 

“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,” read Biden’s order.

According to the latest reports from the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), about half of Arizona’s children rely on free or reduced lunches. It is likely that number increased with the financial stresses due to the pandemic and hiking inflation, as well as the influx of migrant children due to the border crisis.

Children are eligible for free meals if their family income is at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, while reduced meals are available to children with family incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level. 

The Arizona Senate Republican leadership issued a joint press release denouncing the USDA’s latest action. They criticized the Biden administration for prioritizing a political agenda above the wellbeing of children. The leaders contended further that no evidence existed for schools discriminating against children by denying them food over their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“The federal government is literally threatening to stop feeding the poorest of children if schools don’t allow boys in girls’ bathrooms, boys in girls’ showers, or boys on girls’ sports teams,” stated the Senate Republicans. 

Arizona Senate Democrats responded that the Republicans’ dismay over children’s food supplies was really another opportunity to vilify transgender children. They insinuated that children were more worried about guns than they were their next meal. 

“Vilifying trans kids during pride month is very on brand for Republicans but this is just a distraction,” stated the Democrats. “Children are worried about getting shot in their classrooms [sic] not their classmates [sic] gender identity.”

Senate Minority Leader Martín Quezada (D-Glendale) concurred, calling Republican leadership’s concerns “bulls**t.”

Earlier this year, Arizona banned males from competing in female sports. The law applies to both private and public K-12 schools, colleges, and universities in the state.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Homeschooled Sixth Grade Arizonan Eliminated in Finals of National Spelling Bee

Homeschooled Sixth Grade Arizonan Eliminated in Finals of National Spelling Bee

By Corinne Murdock |

Homeschooled sixth grader Aliyah Alpert fell short of winning the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, nearly becoming the first Arizonan to do so in 69 years. 

The winner, 14-year-old Harini Logan of Texas, received cash prizes totaling $52,500, a commemorative medal, the championship trophy, a Merriam-Webster reference library, and $400 worth of Encyclopedia Britannica reference works. 

The last Arizonan to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee was Elizabeth Hess in 1953 with the word “soubrette,” a noun signifying a coquettish or frivolous woman in comedic acting roles. 

In order to make it to the finals, Alpert spelled or defined the following words correctly, in order by round: spelled “nuciform,” an adjective signifying something is like a nut in its shape; defined “malinger,” an intransitive verb indicating someone who pretends or exaggerates an incapacity or illness to avoid work; spelled “dyspathy,” a noun indicating a lack of sympathy; spelled “croupous,” a shipping fever disease affecting cattle; spelled “ostmark,” a monetary unit of the former German Democratic Republic; defined “verklempt,” an informal adjective indicating someone overcome with emotion; and spelled “trevally,” a noun signifying a variety of carangid fish species. 

Alpert misspelled the word “ajivika.” 

Alpert won $2,000 and a commemorative medal for her spot in the finals. 

Alpert faced 12 other finalists: Logan, 14-year-old Shijay Sivakumar of Texas, 14-year-old Abhilash Patel of New York, 13-year-old Sahana Srikanth of Ohio, 13-year-old Sahasrad Sathish of Illinois, 13-year-old Ekansh Rastogi of Florida, 13-year-old Nitya Kathiravan of New Jersey, 13-year-old Vihaan Sibal of Texas, 13-year-old Saharsh Vuppula of Washington, 13-year-old Surya Kapu of Utah, 12-year-old Vikram Raju of Colorado, and 11-year-old Kirsten Santos of Texas.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

24 K-12 Schools Named Social Justice Beacons By Arizona’s Anti-Defamation League

24 K-12 Schools Named Social Justice Beacons By Arizona’s Anti-Defamation League

By Corinne Murdock |

Earlier this month, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of Arizona recognized 24 K-12 schools throughout the state as “No Place For Hate” (NPFH) participants.

There are four required steps to qualifying as a NPFH school: register, create a NPFH committee, sign the NPFH Pledge, and complete at least three school-wide NPFH activities. An additional recommended step for schools concerns engaging in “A World of Difference” anti-bias and allyship workshops.

Despite the ADL’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity, NPFH campaigns may alienate certain classes of students and educators — such as Christians.

According to the ADL, a valid NPFH committee “include[s] students, staff, administrators, and family members that reflect the diversity of the school community.” They are tasked with identifying bias and bullying within their school and host activities to right those identified wrongs. 

Variations of the required pledge exist, and they usually differ between elementary and middle or high schools. For elementary schools, one form of the pledge reads as follows:

I promise to do my best to treat everyone fairly. I promise to do my best to be kind to everyone — even if they are not like me. If I see someone being hurt or bullied, I will tell a teacher. Everyone should be able to feel safe and happy in school. I want our school to be No Place for Hate.

Most versions of the pledge for middle and high schools include more social justice concepts. One example is reproduced below:

I will seek to gain understanding of those who are different from myself. I will speak out against prejudice and discrimination. I will reach out to support those who are targets of hate. I will promote respect for people and help foster a prejudice-free school. I believe that one person can make a difference — no person can be an ‘innocent’ bystander when it comes to opposing hate. I recognize that respecting individual dignity and promoting inter-group harmony are the responsibilities of all students.

And another:

I pledge from this day forward to do my best to combat prejudice and to stop those who, because of hate or ignorance, would hurt anyone or violate their civil rights. I will try at all times to be aware of my own biases and seek to gain understanding of those who I perceive as being different from myself. I will speak out against all forms of prejudice and discrimination. I will reach out to support those who are targets of hate. I will think about specific ways my community members can promote respect for people and create a prejudice free zone. I firmly believe that one person can make a difference and that no person can be an “innocent” bystander when it comes to opposing hate. I recognize that respecting individual dignity, achieving equality and promoting intergroup harmony are the responsibilities of all people. By signing this pledge, I commit myself to creating a respectful community.

Valid NPFH activities that count toward the three needed to qualify the school must be preapproved by the national ADL and tackle bias, prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, social justice, inclusion, diversity, name-calling, or bullying. 

The World of Difference workshops include programs for students titled “Becoming An Ally: Interrupting Name Calling and Bullying,” “Peer Leadership,” “Peer Training,” and “General Anti-Bias Training.” For the most part, each workshop engages in concepts like prejudice, bigotry, diversity, inclusivity, and equity. 

Those steps are required, but there are a plethora of other activities and workshops offered to educators and students vying for NPFH recognition. In June and July, the ADL is hosting a month-long “anti-bias” course for teachers to learn how to eliminate bias while making “equitable and inclusive classrooms.”

The 24 Arizona schools certified as NPFH schools were: C.I. Waggoner Elementary, Desert Meadows, Eagle Ridge Elementary School, Emerson School, Horizon Honors Elementary School, Whittier Elementary, Kyrene de las Manitas, Kyrene del Cielo, Kino Junior High School, Cocopah Middle School, Cooley Middle School, Desert Canyon Middle School, Greenway Middle School, Shea Middle School, Vista Verde Middle School, Dobson High School, Higley High School, Mountain View High School, North High School, Red Mountain High School, Verrado High School, Trailside Performing Arts Academy, New Way Academy, and Rancho Solano Preparatory School.

Centennial Middle School received an honorable mention. 

The 24 schools will receive a customized banner designating them as a NPFH school for this year.

Cocopah Middle School’s principal required teachers to attend a training on supporting and affirming LGBTQ+ lifestyles in children, and where they established a Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club that won an award for coercing the district to allow students to replace their given, or “deadname,” with a preferred name matching their gender identity. GSAs may also stand for Gay-Straight Alliance.

There are over 1,800 schools nationwide who qualify as NPFH.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

NAU Proposed Students Take 12 ‘Diversity’ Credits, Hides Website Following Backlash

NAU Proposed Students Take 12 ‘Diversity’ Credits, Hides Website Following Backlash

By Corinne Murdock |

Northern Arizona University (NAU) students will have to take a 12-credit general studies program focused on diversity. Following initial reports on their plans, NAU hid the DCCC page behind a university login page. (Archived link here). In doing so, they also blocked access to links leading to the DCCC meeting dates, agendas, and minutes; diversity requirements; how individuals could propose a “Diversity Designation” course; and an outline of their curriculum creation and review processes. 

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) approved NAU’s new diversity program last October.

It appears that NAU shielded the DCCC website from the public eye after City Journal reported about the new diversity curriculum. A web cache of the page taken on May 14 allows individuals to see the DCCC website, not an NAU login page. City Journal issued their report on May 24, offering an in-depth assessment on how NAU’s aim for the program was to only include critical theory’s definition of diversity.

NAU also removed DCCC’s notes (archived here) from last September that acknowledged how the level of ambition the undertaking demands. Yet, the DCCC projected that it would cause NAU to take the lead on their competition. 

 “The 12 credits of diversity requirements are unprecedented and puts [sic] NAU at the forefront of higher education,” read the notes.

The initiative is the latest from the Diversity Curriculum Committee (DCC) formed by NAU’s Faculty Senate. The committee declared in their proposal that NAU is lacking in diversity requirements. (Archived link here). 

The DCC explained that students will be required to take three credits in each of the following areas: U.S. Ethnic Diversity, Global Diversity, Indigenous Peoples, and Intersectionality. Within those areas, there will be focuses catered to the arts and humanities, scientific literacy and methods, and social and political worlds. 

More won’t just be required of the students; the DCC proposed that NAU hire a director for the new diversity program; increase hires in Ethnic Studies, Applied Indigenous Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies; establish retention mechanisms for faculty engaged in “diversity objectives;” create a faculty learning community focused on diversity; create a faculty professional development program on diversity curriculum; hire a Chief Diversity Officer; ensure course releases or other compensation for female and minority faculty; require faculty to engage in more diversity work and challenges; and establish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program within each college in NAU.

NAU plans to initiate a soft launch of their revamped diversity program this fall, with a full launch in fall 2023. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.