In Praise of Institutional Neutrality in Academia
If you are up on the latest trends in academia, you’ll know that “institutional neutrality” is in the news as more universities consider or adopt it. In my view, this…
Posts tagged with
“viewpoint diversity”
The Lively Exchange of “Idea”
In 2015, a headline on the satirical news website The Onion read, “College Encourages Lively Exchange of Idea.” The subhead? “Students, Faculty Invited to Freely Express Single Viewpoint.” A few…
Try Humble, Positive Modeling, Not Neutrality
The kerfuffle over the relative merit of forcing “viewpoint neutrality” in history classrooms puzzles me. No wonder: Although an historian by Ph.D., I have taught mostly economics for almost three…
Why I Support Freedom Conservatism’s Principles
Last year, I signed Freedom Conservatism’s “Statement of Principles,” a call to “apply the timeless principles of liberty to the challenges of the 21st century.” I did so primarily because…
Letter to the Editor: Viewpoint-neutral teaching is a sop
To the editor: Viewpoint-Neutral teaching is a sop. It does nothing; it is nothing; it achieves nothing. And, at the end, students have learned nothing. This nullity is inevitable because…
How the AHA Killed Viewpoint-Neutral Teaching
The October 7 Hamas mass-murder of Israelis highlighted the academics around the world who have a soft spot for Jew-killers, as well as how their bigotry’s gotten into everything they…
Viewpoint-Neutral Teaching Isn’t Enough
California’s higher-education system, beset by alarming acts of hate, intimidation, and bigotry on its campuses (e.g., anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protests), has launched a series of initiatives. Among them is an…
Student-Organization Funding Must Be Viewpoint-Neutral
Student organizations play a major role in shaping a campus environment outside of the classroom. Students’ participation in athletics, activism, extra-curricular learning, events, and other activities is typically organized by…
Is Niche.com Really the “Most” Rigorous Rankings Site?
Popularized in the ’80s by U.S. News & World Report, college rankings have become a go-to tool for prospective students and parents, not to mention an annual “popularity” contest for…
Blueprints for Reform
The university system in the United States has accomplished a great deal of good, but it has strayed from its chief goals of scholarly inquiry and responsible teaching, especially in…