A “Controversial” Koch-Funded Speaker Finds Open Minds at Wake Tech
By now you have heard the story. It plays out like a script. A “controversial” speaker—almost always a conservative or libertarian—is invited to a campus. Protests, and in some cases…
A Critical Education Department Position Has Been Filled—and Filled Well
“Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors,” President Trump tweeted on June 5. “They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.” Fortunately for President Trump, many appointments don’t…
Assessment and Power in the University
Universities have been assessing students by grading their work since the Middle Ages. Sometimes students complained that the professor wasn’t fair, but nobody thought the system was fundamentally flawed. Then,…
The UNC Board of Governors Needs Its Own Staff
The University of North Carolina was founded with an excellent governance structure—with one glaring flaw that allows power to be concentrated in the General Administration rather than dispersed between the…
The Real Story Behind the Bethune-Cookman University Commencement Protest
When U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos gave the commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) on May 10, the all-too-familiar tactics of students protesting speakers with whom they disagree sparked a…
Let Your Light Shine: My Year As the Visiting Scholar of Conservative Thought at the University of Colorado
A little over four years ago the University of Colorado, Boulder began a three-year pilot program that I believe has no precedent in American higher education. With the help of…
A Graduate’s Perspective: Thought Police Are Undermining Higher Education
During my time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I graduated this spring, many of my peers and professors seemed to genuinely care about the free…
The Wisest of Counselors: The Western Canon and Those Who Would Defend It
I attended an estate sale for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and a wave of unreality washed over me. It was bizarre to rummage the home of…
Senate Budget Is Prudent, Predictable (And That’s a Good Thing)
The budget released by the North Carolina Senate in early May sets a careful course for higher education. It includes modest increases over last year’s budget for both the University…
Are Full-Time Faculty Being Adjunctified? Recent Data Show Otherwise
The “adjunctification” phenomenon is a familiar concern to most recent Ph.D. graduates, as well as a recurring criticism of perceived trends in faculty employment. One professor recently wrote that it…