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…
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…
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…
“Bias” Reporting as Social-Credit Scheme
Digital-reporting systems on college campuses are not a new concept. Yet they are currently being manipulated, even exploited, to fuel a campus culture in which peers and even faculty patrol…
Faculty Are Not Fleeing the South
Last week, American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapters and faculty unions in four Southern states released the results of a survey purporting to reinforce the notion of a higher-ed…
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…
The Utopianism of ‘Mental Health’
“Mental health” has become a catchphrase of our time. In 1976, Raymond Williams, the British literary scholar, published Keywords, in which he analyzed nearly 200 words that, in his view,…
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…
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…
NCInnovation’s Public Funding Is a Mistake
The North Carolina Senate has proposed a perfect recipe for corruption: Start with $1.425 billion of taxpayer money, stir in concentrated political power, and add a lack of public oversight…