Academics

Future leaders in business, government, and civil society need more than just job skills. The following articles defend the value of liberal education, with a focus on academic quality and rigor, fundamental knowledge, and the ideas that have shaped Western Civilization. They also scrutinize academic programs that have departed from these ideals in the name of progressive ideology.

Sep 27, 2023 · Steven Schwartz

Just Pass Everyone

All political lives end in failure,” said British politician Enoch Powell, a proposition amply corroborated by his own career. Scholars are vulnerable to a similar fate. To paraphrase anthropologist Marshall…

Sep 21, 2023 · Jenna A. Robinson

Celebrating 20 Years of Academic Renewal

Since 2003, the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal has been a voice for excellence in higher education. We are dedicated to promoting knowledge over credentials, restoring genuine liberal…

Sep 20, 2023 · David Randall

Now Is the Time to Renew History Departments

In 2022, Jon Lauck published The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900. His book describes a wonderful range of things to love about the 19th-century Midwest: its…

Sep 19, 2023 · Jenna A. Robinson

Despite Naysayers, UNC-Chapel Hill Climbs the Rankings

Yesterday, U.S. News released its 2024 Best Colleges Rankings. UNC-Chapel Hill moved up to number four among public universities and number 22 among all universities in the U.S. (up from…

Sep 13, 2023 · Knox Brown

The College Classroom Can Be a Judgment-Free Zone

Step inside any gym and you’ll likely see a familiar sight: regular gym buffs, for whom the gym is a second home, using the workout machines with ease. You will…

Sep 8, 2023 · Stanley K. Ridgley

Campus “Anti-Racism” Is a Degenerating Research Program

Ancient and medieval astronomers could not explain the apparent movements of the heavenly bodies while shackled to a Ptolemaic paradigm of an Earth-centered universe. Thus they spun out ad hoc…

Sep 6, 2023 · Mark McNeilly

Does Tenure Matter?

In many red-leaning states around the country, lawmakers have proposed modifying or ending tenure. In my home state of North Carolina, House Bill 715 was under consideration but appears to…

Sep 1, 2023 · James L. Nuzzo

How DEI Threatens Exercise Science

I first encountered DEI in exercise science in 2017. That year, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) published a position paper titled “Achieving equity in physical activity participation: ACSM…

Aug 28, 2023 · Dan E. Way

A Successful Grad-Student Unionization Effort at Duke

Duke University graduate students’ years-long effort to unionize is a microcosm of a growing national trend that is splintering opinion about the form and future of a traditional academic province.…

Aug 17, 2023 · Jenna A. Robinson

Smart Cuts at West Virginia University

In the face of shrinking enrollment and a $45 million budget deficit, West Virginia University (WVU) has made the responsible decision to cut many low-productivity programs across the institution. Its…