How UT-Austin Administrators Destroyed an Intellectual Diversity Initiative
By now, only the most dishonest or intentionally ignorant observers deny the existential crisis facing higher education. Universities no longer even maintain the pretense of dispassionate rational and free inquiry,…
Did You Know? Student Loan “Pauses” Help Those Who Can Afford to Pay
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers implemented sweeping relief programs to offset the economic shock of lockdowns, layoffs, and shifts in consumer behavior. Among these actions was a…
Tenure’s False Promise
Although tenure has been hotly debated over the years, it is still widely misunderstood as guaranteeing a professor a lifetime position. What happened in May to Joshua Katz, a classics…
In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse
Presidents of prestigious universities often make outrageous decisions inconsistent with such bedrock values as freedom of expression and providing the accused with traditional American due process. The shameful manner in…
Remembering Title IX Abuses
Recently, Title IX has been in the news because of the Biden administration’s promised (and, as of yesterday, delivered) rejection of much-needed Trump-era reforms. As we are approaching the 50th…
The Limits of Expertise
As a professor devoted to his college’s “pre-disciplinary” core curriculum, I was hooked by David Epstein’s title, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. The book is chock-full of…
Birds of Paradise: The Moral Poverty of Faculty Freedom Fighters
Carl Dobsky’s brilliant, fiery painting “Birds of Paradise” has been the focus of attention at his recent exhibitions, because it accurately and effectively captures the zeitgeist of contemporary American life.…
Connecting Degree Return-On-Investment with a Better Financing System
While some nerdy people like me thought that college was fun, and so stayed in it for life, for most people it is a chore to be completed with the…
The Public Discourse Program at UNC-Chapel Hill: Expanding Students’ Minds
Since the rise of social media, many students have gotten used to discussing difficult topics within the protection of their own echo chambers. Students are often not expected to defend…
Why Johnny Can’t Relax
Alarming rates of depression and anxiety in college students are drawing headlines. A recent study reports that 41% of college students show symptoms of depression, and nearly three-fourths have experienced…