Another settlement reached in Enron class action

The University of California has announced that it will move for a preliminary court approval of a $168 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against former directors of the bankrupt energy giant Enron.

Of the total settlement, insurance proceeds will pay $155 million and the remaining $13 million will come from personal contributions of insider trading proceeds made by the directors, the university said.

Under a deal reached on Oct. 6, the money will be held in trust until final approval of the agreement.

“This is a further significant step toward what we hope will be a substantial recovery for the investor victims of the Enron fraud,” UC General Counsel James E. Holst stated in a university announcement. “It is especially significant that these outside directors were made to disgorge some of their insider trading proceeds.”

The agreement is the fourth one reached in the case, with recovery for the class totaling almost half a billion dollars. In 2004, the university, as the lead plaintiff, reached settlements with a brokerage firm involved in the case and a bank that the suit accused of playing a role in the company’s financial transactions. Another settlement was reached in 2002 with the international arm of the company’s former auditor.

A separate legal action against Enron’s top executives and other banks allegedly involved in the scam will continue, the university said.

Democrats propose bill to reverse Pell Grant changes

Three Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives have offered legislation to restore Pell Grant awards to the nearly 90,000 students expected to lose aid under new tax tables announced by the Department of Education.

The department moved to update the state tax information used for determining federal financial aid as a result of a major spending bill passed by Congress, which did not contain language prohibiting such updates. Since 1994, similar provisions mandated the Education Department to use 1988 tax data.

Under the new tax tables, some students in 48 states are expected to lose at least part of their Pell Grants while students in Connecticut will see their aid increase slightly.

The one-paragraph bill, introduced by Reps. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) would prevent the department from using the new tax tables in cases where they would reduce aid. The bill is cosponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who expressed vocal criticism of the changes.

Republican lawmakers have defended the use of new data, saying that they would benefit poor students and reduce the deficit in the Pell Grant program.

Colorado governor calls for crime-free scholarship

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens has called on the state’s legislature to pass legislation creating a new $50 million scholarship for low-income eighth- and ninth-graders.

However, there is a catch: To qualify, students must promise not to use drugs, alcohol or tobacco, “and otherwise stay out of trouble.”

In addition, Colorado students will need to maintain minimum grades, pass certain prerequisite courses and be eligible for the federal Pell Grant.

“This new program will tackle the two biggest barriers to college access: lack of academic preparation and money to pay for college,” stated Rick O’Donnell, executive director of the state’s Commission on Higher Education, whose department will manage the new program.

Under the plan, funding would come from profits made by the state company that administers student loans. It would be used to satisfy “unmet” aid — the amount left over after all other financial aid and student contributions are subtracted from total college costs.

To receive the Colorado Achievement Scholarship, students will need to maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA and commit to not violate laws or use controlled substances, according to the program’s official description.

The governor did not say how the state would make sure students followed through on that commitment.

Iraqi advisor to speak at campus lecture event

Dana Eyre, a former aid coordinator who worked with the U.S. government’s Agency for International Development on the reconstruction of Iraq, will speak about challenges in the run-up to the country’s Jan. 30 elections.

Eyre will lead a lecture scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 at Great Hall.

Before returning from Iraq in November, he served as a senior adviser to USAID, focusing on issues of democracy and governance, and led a part of the Coalition Provisional Authority’s civic education program.

Prior to his work in Iraq, Eyre also served for three years as a senior adviser to the United Nations’ mission in Kosovo.