Donors Beware: College Officials Have Their Own Ideas About Using Your Money
It is quite common: A successful college alum decides to donate a large sum of his accumulated wealth to his alma mater, but wants the money to be used in…
Articles by George Leef
Restoring a Great Intellectual Tradition to America’s Campuses
Americans used to relish good debates. The debates between Senator Stephen Douglas and his challenger Abraham Lincoln in 1858 were transcribed and widely read. Even though Lincoln lost the election,…
Exposing the Moral Flaws in Our Higher Education System
Many if not most professors and higher education leaders enjoy pontificating about their high-minded ideals in contrast with the grubby, self-interested world outside of academia. What few people have done…
The Oberlin Case Gives College Leaders a Teachable Moment
When college officials violate people’s rights, they run the risk of bringing on lawsuits that can cost their schools a lot of money. The most common instance has been hyper-aggressive…
A Book Full of Advice for High School and College Grads
America’s education establishment beams out a message to young people like a pulsar: Go to college! A high percentage of them do. Once the students are enrolled, however, the schools…
Our Accreditation System Has Bennett College Struggling for Life
Founded in 1873 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Bennett College is one only two of historically black colleges just for women. It has been a four-year college since 1926, but in…
Can Americans ‘Handle the Truth’ About Individual Achievement Differences?
In the 1992 movie A Few Good Men, there is a courtroom scene where the prosecuting attorney (played by Tom Cruise) tells the defendant Marine officer Nathan Jessup (played by…
Caveat Magister: Even Medical Professors Must Not Say Politically Incorrect Things
How far has the United States gone down the road of punishing people for uttering politically incorrect thoughts? Very far indeed, as an incident at the University of Louisville shows.…
How Bad Is For-Profit Higher Education, Actually?
For about fifteen years, from 1995 to 2010, enrollments grew rapidly in the for-profit higher education sector, but since then have fallen substantially. The reason for the decline is mainly…
Former University President Nails Many of Higher Education’s Ills
Often, the strongest criticisms of higher education come from insiders. One insider is Daniel Johnson, who retired as president of the University of Toledo in 2006 after an academic career…