UNC Isn’t Waiting for Raleigh
Even as North Carolina lawmakers continue budget negotiations, the UNC System has already implemented many of the cuts proposed by the NC House and Senate. While their total savings fall…
Why the Worst Get on Top in Academia
In Chapter 10 (“Why the Worst Get on Top”) of The Road to Serfdom, F. A. Hayek argued that centralized political authority tends to elevate the worst people in society. Goons…
Lonely on Campus: Are Universities Failing Their Students?
A college campus should be one of the least lonely places in America. Students pack lecture halls, dormitories, dining halls, football games, and coffee shops every day. There are clubs,…
A Memo to Reform-Minded Campus Leaders
We’re past the furious early salvos of Trump vs. Higher Ed. Fifteen months into Trump 2.0, the early clashes have settled into a Cool War punctuated by more modest skirmishes…
North Carolina Is a Model for Higher-Education Reform
In the realm of state higher-education reform, Texas and Florida are often in the spotlight. But North Carolina’s slow, thoughtful reforms have led to important and lasting changes for Tar…
States Should Lead on Higher-Ed Reform
In recent years, federal policymakers have pursued sweeping higher-education reforms. Yet these efforts are often slow, legally contested, and subject to reversal. For example, during both of his terms of…
“Yes” to Cameras in the Classroom
News recently came out of Chapel Hill that the flagship campus of the University of North Carolina had adopted a new policy that allowed administrators to record class proceedings at…
Transparency Requires More Than Half a Syllabus
The UNC System’s new policy requiring public posting of faculty syllabi is grounded in a sound principle: Taxpayers deserve to know what is being taught at their public universities. Greater…
A Liberal Professor’s Case for the UNC Syllabus Policy
In January, a change to UNC System policy that might appear to be merely administrative reopened a longstanding debate about the political oversight of academic knowledge. The issue concerns public access…
Who Will Control the Virginia Military Institute?
Recent legislative developments in the Virginia General Assembly have placed the future governance and military character of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) at the center of an intensifying state-federal debate.…