The Free Online Courses that Cultivate the Mind
The task of learning never ends for those who want to grow in wisdom. But in a world of eight- or ten-hour workdays, traffic jams, and daily responsibilities, it can…
Articles by Shannon Watkins
Advising and Peer Connections: Helping Transfer Students Earn a College Degree
Jumping right into a four-year university after high school isn’t for everybody. There are numerous reasons why, for some students, attending a community college and then transferring to a four-year…
The Better Teacher: A Professor or Another Student?
Professors, particularly at research universities, wear many hats. On the one hand, they are instructors, entrusted to pass on knowledge to their students. On the other hand, they are researchers…
Free Speech: A Year in Review for UNC Campuses
Last year, the Martin Center released its first report on the state of free speech and institutional neutrality in the UNC system. The report serves two main purposes. The first…
A Psychological Profile of the New Campus Activist
A certain anger at society seems to pervade the academy today. Hardly a week goes by without hearing about outraged students either demanding recompense for some perceived injustice or attempting…
Is Early College Paying Off?
“Early college” is an increasingly popular program that allows students to earn college credit in high school. Among the advantages it offers to high school students is the ability to…
What Do North Carolinians Think About Student Debt?
Student loan debt has reached the dizzying level of nearly $1.6 trillion—largely due to ever-soaring tuition prices and students taking on financial burdens that far outweigh their earning potential. The…
Educate the Educators!
North Carolina schools have a serious literacy problem; most likely, that means it has a teacher education problem. The University of North Carolina system is exploring ways to correct the…
Repairing Academia’s Crisis of Meaning
Traditionally, higher education introduced students to life’s most fundamental questions: “What is good?”; “What is true?”; “Do our lives have meaning beyond the material?”; and so on. The focus used…
The Essential Ingredient for a ‘Deep Education’
About a year ago, Princeton philosopher Robert P. George came to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to speak about civil discourse and diversity of thought with the UNC system Board of…