Quick Takes

A number of students at the University of Northern Colorado filed complaints about Vance Fulkerson, a theater professor, over what they considered inappropriate sexual advances, and the university did nothing to stop the pattern, The Denver Post reported. Former students described incidents involving Fulkerson -- and one former professor confirmed that complaints were filed and nothing happened -- in the wake of his arrest Tuesday on one count of sexual exploitation of children and one misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual contact, based on a complaint that he had a video monitoring system set up in the bathroom at his home. The Post reported that Fulkerson told police the video system was for use with paid models. But former students reported that Fulkerson would -- during private voice lessons at his house -- encourage them to go to the bathroom to urinate while singing (allegedly claiming that this would help their singing) and that he filmed them there without their knowledge. Others reported that he took them on trips to events that then didn't take place, promising separate hotel rooms that became one room, and made advances, frequently after drinking with the students. Kay Norton, president of the university, issued a statement: "I want to assure you that we absolutely do not tolerate or condone the behavior that has been alleged. ... As members of the university community, we share the responsibility for creating a respectful, caring and inclusive climate on our campus."

U.S. Bank, the sixth largest provider of federally guaranteed student loans, has told its customers that it will stop doing so after this fall, Student Lending Analytics reported Wednesday. U.S. Bank told college officials that it would end its activities in the Federal Family Education Loan Program by September 25. U.S. Bank does not service the loans it makes, and so would have no role in the Obama administration's proposed plan to end the guaranteed student loan program, and relatively little role even in the alternative setup proposed this week by a group of loan providers hoping to sustain elements of the lender-based program.

In a sign of the difficult financial times, the English department at Florida State University is removing phones from professors' offices, The Tallahassee Democrat reported. Some other departments are making similar moves. While a number of colleges in recent years have stopped providing students with land lines in their dormitory rooms, phones are traditional in faculty offices. Florida State officials said that the cuts they need to make are so deep that they would rather cut phone service than other items, and hope that people can reach faculty members on their cell phones.

Craven Williams, president of Greensboro College since 1993, resigned Tuesday, effective immediately, The Greensboro News & Record reported. Professors, expressing concern about mounting debts at the college and their lack of information about plans to deal with financial problems, had been planning a vote of no confidence. As recently as two weeks ago, Williams indicated that he had no plans to leave. In April, Williams cut faculty and staff salaries by 20 percent.

For the last week, gay and lesbian law students and their supporters at New York University have been debating what to do about the hiring of a visiting professor from Singapore, Thio Li-ann, who was hired to teach human rights law despite her record saying that gay people can have their sexual orientations changed and that gay sexual acts are appropriately treated as crimes. On Wednesday, the board of NYU OUTLaw, a gay student group, issued a statement in which it asked the administration to condemn her views, but rejected the idea of demanding that the job offer be rescinded. A statement from the group's board said that it "thinks it best to fight Dr. Thio's offensive views not by silencing her but by engaging in a respectful and productive dialogue about the boundaries of human rights. This fall, we plan to hold events to explore issues of academic freedom, LGBT rights, and human rights in Asia, and we look forward to Dr. Thio’s participation in the discussion. We very much appreciate the comments from students, alumni, and other concerned parties, and we expect the passion and interest to continue as we plan our events for next year. President Obama recently invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to affirm his belief that the 'arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.' From the cornfields of Iowa to the street markets of India, history is moving towards equality for the LGBT community. We are confident that tolerance and diversity will triumph over hatred and bigotry."

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell on Wednesday signed legislation to increase regulation of credit card marketing focused on college students. The legislation:

• Prohibits credit card companies from marketing during orientation and class registration periods.
• Requires companies to distribute credit management education materials along with marketing materials.
• Bars companies from offering gifts at athletics events.
• Bars colleges from selling student names and addresses to credit card companies.

Missouri Western State University has been placed on two years' probation by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for allowing an international women’s basketball player, who had previously played professionally abroad, to compete on its team after she was no longer eligible to do so. The player, whom neither the NCAA nor Missouri Western would name, played from 2000 to 2003 for “an overseas team in a professional league” before coming to the United States to play at a community college for two years. By the time she came to Missouri Western in 2005, she had already exhausted her “five years of organized competition,” as allowed by the NCAA. Lynn Plett, current women’s head coach, tipped the NCAA off to the violation when he noticed a “three-year gap in [the athlete’s] records between her 2000 graduation from high school and her 2003 enrollment at a community college.” The report by the Division II Committee on Infractions notes that the athlete failed to include her professional playing experience on her international student eligibility form. It also notes, however, that neither Josh Keister, the former head coach, nor Joey Wells, the former assistant coach, “investigated [the athlete’s] whereabouts during the three years from 2000 to 2003 at the time she enrolled.” In addition to the probation, Missouri Western must vacate all wins in which the athlete played, reduce the number of athletics scholarships for women’s basketball players from 10 to 9, and refrain from recruiting international students for two years. If that were not enough, the Griffons, 2006-7 champions of Division II’s Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association, must also return their trophy to the conference office. Although Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western president, said in a statement that he was “disappointed” that the university “failed to live up to the high standards” it has for itself, he did argue that he believed that the infraction should have been deemed “secondary” instead of “major.” Kent Heier, university spokesman, said the institution has not determined whether it will appeal the severity of the punishment with the NCAA.