American Higher Education: Beset with Problems, but Solutions Exist
Editor’s note: This is an abridged transcript of a speech Richard Vedder gave at a Martin Center luncheon on January 30, 2020. I will concentrate today on the economics of…
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Articles
The Ever-growing Costs of Mandatory Student Fees
North Carolina public universities are more than just institutions of higher learning. They are each small cities of young adults with Olympic-level athletic franchises, massive dining and fitness clubs, and…
The Brutal and Beautiful Art of Education
Tara Westover and her family lived off the grid on Buck’s Peak, a mountainside in Idaho so remote that life there was anchored in “circles of perpetual change that, when…
Did You Know? At UNC-Chapel Hill, About 19% of Liberals and 3% of Moderates and Conservatives Would Block Controversial Speaker
In the spring of 2019, three professors at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill conducted a study to understand free speech and constructive dialogue on campus. The study invited UNC…
College Climate Surveys Needed to Understand Free Expression on Campus
In yet another window into the country’s polarized political environment, in 2017 the Pew Research Center surveyed Americans regarding their views of major civic institutions. While there were divisions in…
A New Chapter in UNC Board Governance
It’s been a couple of months since Randy Ramsey became the chairman of the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. Since his appointment in October, Ramsey’s tenure has…
The Philosophical Force Driving the Fight to Rewrite History
Two recent stories that dominated academic Twitter were the cancellation of the Western Art History course at Yale and the incorporation of the 1619 Project in the school curricula in…
Did You Know? Majority of Federal Funding for College Is for Student Loans
The federal government has grown in importance for higher education for decades. The most long-lasting effect could be its status as the lender of first resort for student loans. The…
Pro/Con: Is Food Insecurity on Campus a Problem?
Campus Food Insecurity Matters Food insecurity among American college students is a significant problem. While outdated stereotypes of higher education presume that undergraduates live on campus, receive stipends from their…
Reinvigorating the Teaching of American History
To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. —Cicero It’s no secret that many of today’s students are ignorant of American history…