Articles

Articles

May 2, 2016 ·

2016 Commencement Season Relatively Calm, But Lacks Viewpoint Diversity

It’s possible that the relatively calm season is the result of well-publicized controversy in previous years, as universities appear to overwhelming exclude conservative speakers from commencement ceremonies. A 2015 study from the Young America Foundation found that, of the top 50 universities ranked by US News and World Report, the ratio of liberal to conservative speakers was nine to one. That trend holds at North Carolina universities.

Apr 25, 2016 ·

Will the UNC System Rise Above Higher Education’s Status Quo?

UNC System leaders are overhauling their 2013 strategic planning initiative. Whether that will result in sound reform ideas, however, is up in the air. North Carolina’s university system is a powerful force in the state—armed with its own lobbying team, almost 50,000 employees, and a $9.5 billion annual budget. It is a machine with a tendency to aggrandize. Curbing its appetite for expansion and self-serving policies won’t be easy.

Apr 22, 2016 ·

In (Limited) Praise of Trigger Warnings

One should wish to “do no harm.” Reason must prevail. Professors should take steps to protect the truly damaged, but students who think they are emotionally triggered by imaginary, supernatural beings with magical powers would be better served by paying a visit to the campus health center.

Apr 15, 2016 ·

Woodrow Wilson’s Legacy Still to Be Honored at Princeton

Earlier this month Princeton University’s Board of Trustees resolved an issue that in the fall of 2015 provoked angry student protests, including a 32-hour sit-in demonstration in the university president’s office led by a group called the Black Justice League. The most controversial question dealt with the legacy of Princeton past president Woodrow Wilson, who is honored in many ways, including a public policy institute and one of its residential colleges that are named for him. Students from the Black Justice League demanded several changes be made, the most contentious being the removal of Wilson’s name from all places of honor at the university on the grounds that Wilson was a bigoted racist.

Apr 13, 2016 ·

Blind Faith in College Completion

The American higher education establishment suffers from the same problem as ruling establishments everywhere—the inability to look objectively at itself. Do you think that the members of the old Soviet Politburo ever asked, “Do our five-year plans actually do any good?” Of course not, and members of our higher education establishment are no more inclined to wonder, “Have we oversold college?” Illustrative of the inability of elites to question the basic assumptions of their status is the latest book from William Bowen and Michael McPherson, Lesson Plan.

Apr 11, 2016 ·

BCG Report: Universities Want More Advocacy, Less Accountability

A study of the UNC System’s administration, released last week, recommends realignment of the management of UNC’s 16 universities—mostly to fulfill campus wish lists. But downplayed in the report is the reason for the General Administration’s existence in the first place: to help the disparate schools function more efficiently as a system, in order to serve students better.