From Purpose to Politics: The Decline of Three Liberal Arts Institutions

In the early years of our nation, the increasing demand for an educated population led to the founding of many small colleges. Almost all of them had religious roots and had as their main goals the moral development of students. Education was strongly tied to Western intellectual traditions dating back centuries. Over time, they underwent adaptations to meet new challenges, such as the growing need for professional and technical workers. But even while modernizing their curricula, they held firm to their foundations in religion, tradition, and character-building.

Or, at least they did until the mid-20th century. Like many other American institutions, they, too, succumbed to the assault on Western traditions. In the process, they became very different organizations from what their founders intended: out went faith and character building, in came critical theory and grievance studies.

The following report examines the historical and recent changes at three such colleges: Davidson College, Washington and Lee University, and Williams College. Today, these schools are almost unrecognizable from their early years. All three were founded to prepare students for leadership roles in the church and society. Students studied a classical liberal arts curriculum, which included an in-depth study of Greek and Latin, as well as moral philosophy.

Their curricula grew, as required by scientific discoveries and the consequent industrial and technological revolutions. But more recently, the education offered at the three schools has been fundamentally reshaped. Their religious orientations have either been eliminated or severely weakened. Their expanded curricula lack coherence and are replete with ideologically charged themes. The same pattern can be found at other small private institutions across the country.

Many remain unaware of the dramatic shift that schools like Davidson College, Washington and Lee University, and Williams College have undergone. This report aims to draw back the curtain and ask whether the values and knowledge taught at these schools are the ones that donors, alumni, and parents wish to support? And whether these are the values and knowledge that students need?

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this report incorrectly implied that the initial Matt Walsh event was canceled due to campus backlash. That is not correct. The report also wrongly stated that the Lee Chapel was recently converted into a museum, that is not correct. We regret the errors. The W&L curriculum proposal was updated based on the most recently available information. 

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