The BlackLivesMattering of Higher Ed: Some Notes from the Field
When the University of Chicago English Department announced over the summer that, in response to the protests after the death of George Floyd, they would only admit graduate students willing…
They’ve Got to Get Rid of Western Civ—They Have To
For ten years I served on the GRE Literature Exam committee. The exam is one of the special subject matter exams separate from the regular GRE (with math, verbal, analytical…
Disadvantaging Black Students with a Demand for ‘Linguistic Justice’
On August 3, the Executive Committee of the Conference on College Composition and Communication approved a position statement on “Black Linguistic Justice.” The statement was crafted as a set of…
Did You Know? Survey Finds Trouble in Campus Support for Free Speech
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) came out with the largest survey of students and campus life, showing the predictable divisions along class, political beliefs, and gender. However,…
We Need to Talk About Bruce
Nowhere is “cancel culture” more deeply entrenched than in academia; it was commonplace there long before the actual phrase was coined to describe the current social media phenomenon. The gears…
Diversity Über Alles: Science Is Threatened by Identity Politics
I have worked in academic science my entire life and I have never seen any sign of racism, systemic or otherwise. On the contrary, I have seen people go to…
Blueprint for Reform: Free Speech on Campus
The “Blueprint for Reform: Free Speech on Campus” is a policy guide for state legislators and university trustees. It underscores the essential role of free expression in higher education, advocating…
Of Academic Freedom and False Alarms
It has been a very strange year. Three weeks ago I opened my email to find an unsolicited email from a lawyer, asking if I needed help. Odd, I thought,…
Blueprint for Reform: Institutional Neutrality
Blueprint for Reform: Institutional Neutrality is a policy guide for state legislators and university trustees. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining political and ideological neutrality in higher education institutions to…
Woke Me When It’s Over
Many, perhaps most, Americans are just now waking up to the meaning of “woke.” What does “woke” have to do with looting, bricks, fires, and blood in Portland, Seattle, and…