Religion on a Roll

INSIDEHIGHERED.COM, March 14 — Campus religious-rights advocates emerged victorious last month in court rulings in California and Wisconsin, and in a dispute over the display of a cross at the College of William and Mary. According to InsideHigherEd.com, all three victories reflect a trend of courts affirming religious rights on campus, in accord with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1995 Rosenberger decision. The court ruled in that case that the University of Virginia could not deny funds to student groups because they engage in religious activities. “The political climate now is right for this,” said Lawrence White, formerly general counsel at Georgetown University and now a legal consultant to colleges. “You have organizations that have dedicated themselves to the issue, a more sympathetic judiciary, and court rulings like Rosenberger.”

Unity Initiative

LOS ANGELES TIMES, March 17, 2007 — A new institute has been established at Loyola Marymount University to promote unity between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Huffington Ecumenical Institute was launched in March with a $5 million pledge from Michael Huffington, a 59-year-old member of the Orthodox Church. Said Huffington, “What they believe in is so very similar, in many respects, that the differences ought to be bridged, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Record Largesse

ASSOCIATED PRESS, March 19 — The University of Portland (Ore.) has received the largest gift in the Catholic university’s history — a $12 million donation from heart-valve inventor Donald Shiley and his wife Darlene. Shiley, 87, graduated from the university in 1951 with a degree in engineering. His gift will be used to upgrade and expand the college’s engineering building.