A Christian Chapel in the Wilderness
To Christian eyes, our nation’s most prestigious university chapels are in a state of utter decay. This is, of course, not a new claim. Entire scholarly careers have already come…
A Congresswoman Looks at the Disaster of Higher Education
Following the Hamas assault on Israel in October 2023, many American campuses erupted in turmoil—not due to the brutality of the attack, but in support of the Palestinian cause. In…
Crime Doesn’t Care About DEI
In just a few weeks time, college students and their parents will descend upon Iowa City, IA, eagerly awaiting a new semester of learning on a safe campus. But recent…
The Next UNC? Bucknell’s Late Arrival to the Civil Discourse Trend.
Higher education is trying to remedy political polarization using campus democracy and dialogue initiatives. When Bucknell University announced its new Initiative for Dialogue & Democracy, administrators pitched the effort as…
The SCiLL I Know
The School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL). At UNC, students hear this name in one of a few ways. One is “eww, that uber-conservative program that’s a waste of…
When Academics Deny Reality
You’ve no doubt heard the expression, “That’s an idea so ridiculous only an academic could believe it.” It kept coming to mind as I read Professor John Staddon’s new book…
Universities Must Police Foreign Influence
On June 5, the Qatar Foundation International (QFI) announced that, after almost two decades of pursuing its stated mission of advancing Arabic language and cultural education, it would begin winding…
The Future of Race-Based Scholarships in Higher Education
It’s now been three years since the United States Supreme Court declared that race may never be used as a “negative” or operate as a “stereotype” in higher education. While…
The New Feudalism
In 2009, an anonymous university support staff member wrote to C.K. Gunsalus—a prominent academic who specializes in the study of higher education administration—looking for advice and, frankly, a little bit…
Bans on “Divisive Concepts” Risk Stifling Speech
The growing (though not unanimous) acknowledgement that academia has lost public trust may be increasingly uncontroversial. But identifying remedies to repair that broken trust is proving to be much more…