Weekly Briefing: A Hell of a Week. Or Hell Week?

It started with the improbable. Then things got wilder. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] [Read this newsletter on the web](. What a week. [image] David Butow, Redux It started with the improbable — [Slack's outage]( on Monday. On Tuesday, the seemingly impossible became possible when two Georgia Democrats appeared to win their U.S. Senate runoff elections. Then, the world we know ended on Wednesday, as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. By Thursday night, the unimaginable persisted when Education Secretary Betsy DeVos submitted her resignation. Today you're probably still clouded in a somber haze. Whether or not you were surprised by the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to disrupt the certifying of the 2020 presidential election, odds are you paused your work to stream the destruction. On Wednesday afternoon, higher-education leaders were quiet, but as soon as the situation turned violent, community-college and historically Black college leaders were among the first to speak out. Many messages from leaders, [which you can read in a Twitter thread here]( lacked the polish that we usually get from college presidents. For example, David Kwabena Wilson, president of Morgan State University, in Baltimore, [tweeted]( "I can’t believe this attempted coup d’état?" Even Michael S. Roth, president of the extremely polished Wesleyan University, [tweeted]( "Knock, Knock. The fascists are here." At their core, colleges stand for inquiry. And inquiry depends on some agreements about facts. [Roth]( my colleague Lindsay Ellis]( the rioters in Washington, D.C., believed in an alternative reality. [Later he wrote]( that the country should use education to rebuild: “As we begin to restore order, let’s use education for the civic preparedness we desperately need." The storming of the U.S. Capitol — incited by President Trump — also prompted top White House officials and cabinet members to resign. [DeVos submitted her resignation]( to the president on Thursday night, effective Friday. "Impressionable children are watching all of this, and they are learning from us." DeVos wrote [in her resignation letter](. "I believe we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgement and model the behavior we hope they would emulate." When Democrats Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock won their runoff elections, the U.S. Senate got a sliver of a Democratic majority, if you count [Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote](. Democrats can control both houses of the legislature, and the White House. But Congress is closely divided, making it tough for Democrats to pass major legislation. It will take work to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, pass a widespread student-loan forgiveness plan, or a create a free-college program. [Passing new federal legislation is still one big "Stay tuned."]( Oh, in case you forgot, the coronavirus pandemic is still ripping through the country, with [the highest number of deaths in a single day]( on Thursday. Case spikes pushed back the spring semester in-person start date for the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill. On Thursday,[the institution said]( that, given the case numbers and hospitalizations in the state and country, all classes would remain remote starting January 19 until at least February 8. Sometimes news developments in Washington don't feel immediate for higher education. This week's events, [and the moments that got our country here]( felt more urgent than ever. Paid for and Created by TIAA [Your Financial Wellbeing in Challenging Times]( As both higher ed institutions and employees continue to deal with the financial upheaval caused by Covid-19, TIAA has put together a collection of resources to provide insights, financial planning advice, negotiation strategies and other financial trends to help plan for a secure financial future. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( Subscribe to The Chronicle The Chronicle’s award-winning journalism challenges conventional wisdom, holds academic leaders accountable, and empowers you to do your job better — and it’s your support that makes our work possible. [Subscribe Today]( Lagniappe. - Learn. Did you find yourself trying to work through Wednesday afternoon? Maybe you had no choice. [Maybe we've normalized]( grief. (Culture Study newsletter) - Read. [This opinion piece]( helped me make sense of Wednesday. [This story]( about Ben Affleck and Dunkin' Donuts helped distract me. (The New York Times, The Ringer) - Listen. We need to call in experts after this week. [Play Patti Smith's](. (Spotify) - Watch. What do you do when you find out your neighbor may have committed crimes against humanity? [The short documentary finds out](. (The New York Times) Cheers, —Fernanda This Week‘s Top Reads THE PANDEMIC [Higher Education in a Time of Insurrection]( By Brian Rosenberg [image] Never has our commitment to understanding the truth been more vital. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( CORONAVIRUS [As the Pandemic Worsens, Colleges Prepare to Test Their Spring Plans]( By Francie Diep [image] Entering the spring of 2021, institutions have more experience with Covid-19 but face record-high community rates and a new viral variant. PANDEMIC [Colleges Weigh Whether to Require Covid-19 Vaccines, or Just Urge Them]( By Vimal Patel [image] How can they encourage skeptics to get the shots? Job Announcement Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at University of the Pacific. [Visit jobs.chronicle.com]( for more details. Paid for and Created by Apogee [A Delegate Situation]( With students expecting an innovative blend of traditional and remote learning now and in the future, CIOs will need to take a more strategic and holistic approach when developing IT solutions for higher ed institutions. The Chronicle's Featured Report: The Post-Pandemic College [Leading experts examine how the pandemic will shape higher education]( in the years to come and what the college of the future may look like. To recover well, colleges must develop a more externally-focused business model, direct resources to expand professional development in online teaching, and continue to expand mental-health services. Job Opportunities [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in higher education. What did you think of today’s newsletter? 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