Bill Gates: Let More Skilled Foreign Workers In

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is pushing the House Committee on Science Technology to "liberalize rules for H1-B visas for skilled foreign workers," reports National Public Radio. Gates, in his testimony, cited that 60 percent of students in the country's top computer-science programs are foreign-born and that most can't stay in the United States because the quota for H1-B visas filled up immediately last April. Microsoft recently opened an office in Vancouver, Canada, where it can place employees who can't legally work in the United States, reports NPR.

For more information about Gates and his belief in the power of philanthropy, especially to boost diverse populations, check out the December 2006 issue of DiversityInc magazine.

U of Hawaii Provides Same-Sex-Couples Housing

The University of Hawaii has agreed to allow gay and lesbian couples to live in the university's housing for married students, reports 365gay. The decision came one day after Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit, on behalf of a same-sex couple, accusing the university of discrimination. "The lawsuit is surprising and disappointing because UH-Manoa was already working on changing our housing policies to accommodate couples such as the plaintiffs and families in similar situations, and we are in the process of doing so," Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for students, told the Honolulu Advertiser. There is no indication on how soon the new housing rule will take effect. Is your college on the LGBT-friendly list?

Last 'Great Debater' Dies at 96

Henrietta Bell Wells, the only woman and only freshman and the last surviving member of the 1930 Wiley College debate team, which was chronicled in the Denzel Washington movie "The Great Debaters," died Feb. 27 in Baytown, Texas, at the age of 96, reports The New York Times. Wells, who graduated valedictorian of her high-school class and matriculated at Wiley College with the help of a modest scholarship from the YMCA, was a member of the history debate team that upset the all-white University of Michigan law-school team. After graduating, Wells worked as a social worker and teacher.

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