Two Cheers for the Great Books
Recently, Luke Burgis, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Catholic University of America, posed a provocative question: “What is the strongest argument from the political Right AGAINST Great Books programs?” In my view,…
A Via Media on AI
I was working in a public space when a nearby conversation caught my attention. One student told a colleague that she would be taking several difficult classes the next semester.…
Michigan Reconnect Is Pulling Community Colleges Off Mission
Community colleges play a specific role not only within our educational ecosystem, but also that of the communities that they serve. They are community colleges, after all. Before the community…
The SCiLL I Know
The School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL). At UNC, students hear this name in one of a few ways. One is “eww, that uber-conservative program that’s a waste of…
Universities Must Police Foreign Influence
On June 5, the Qatar Foundation International (QFI) announced that, after almost two decades of pursuing its stated mission of advancing Arabic language and cultural education, it would begin winding…
The New Feudalism
In 2009, an anonymous university support staff member wrote to C.K. Gunsalus—a prominent academic who specializes in the study of higher education administration—looking for advice and, frankly, a little bit…
Bans on “Divisive Concepts” Risk Stifling Speech
The growing (though not unanimous) acknowledgement that academia has lost public trust may be increasingly uncontroversial. But identifying remedies to repair that broken trust is proving to be much more…
Suicide on Sociology Row
No state matches Florida in higher education reform. Its landmark Senate Bill 266, passed during the 2023 legislative session, abolished DEI offices. It also requires general education reform in state…
Rewriting the Rules of Accreditation
Shortly before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, I summarized for the Martin Center the possible reforms to collegiate accreditation his administration might adopt. I divided these conservative reforms into three broad…
Will UNCW’s Medical School Solve the Doctor Shortage?
The University of North Carolina Wilmington has initiated an ambitious project to establish a medical school intended to alleviate a severe shortage of physicians in rural and underserved areas of…