Author Profile

George Leef

George Leef is director of research for the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Carroll College (Waukesha, WI) and a juris doctor from Duke University School of Law. He was a vice president of the John Locke Foundation until the Pope Center became independent in 2003.

Prior to joining the Locke Foundation, Leef was president of Patrick Henry Associates, a consulting firm in Michigan dedicated to assisting others in advocating free markets, minimal government, private property, and individual rights. Previously, Leef was on the faculty of Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, where he taught courses in economics, business law, and logic. He has also worked as a policy adviser in the Michigan Senate.

A regular columnist for Forbes.com, Leef was book review editor of The Freeman, published by the Foundation for Economic Education, from 1996 to 2012. He has published numerous articles in The Freeman, Reason, The Free Market, Cato Journal, The Detroit News, Independent Review, and Regulation. He writes regularly for the National Review's Phi Beta Cons blog and for SeethruEdu.com.

Articles by George Leef

Can the Feds Do Something to Protect Campus Free Speech? Should They?

May 26, 2017 · · 1 Comment on Can the Feds Do Something to Protect Campus Free Speech? Should They?

That free speech on college campuses is under attack cannot be denied. We find invited speakers being disinvited or shouted down, “bias incident” reporting systems that encourage students to complain when they hear anything they don’t like, and professors who demean students who dare to question their assertions. In the fairly recent past, most higher … Continue reading “Can the Feds Do Something to Protect Campus Free Speech? Should They?”

Court Ruling in the McAdams Case: A Body Blow to Free Speech and Tenure

May 12, 2017 · · 10 Comments on Court Ruling in the McAdams Case: A Body Blow to Free Speech and Tenure

The Martin Center has been covering the Kafkaesque case of Marquette University professor John McAdams since it first broke several years ago. Professor Howard Kainz first wrote about it in “Firing Professor McAdams: When a Catholic University Collides with Political Correctness.” He explained the substance of the problem between the university and McAdams, which was … Continue reading “Court Ruling in the McAdams Case: A Body Blow to Free Speech and Tenure”

Why the Woman Appointed to a Top Education Department Post Is Under Fire

May 5, 2017 · · 42 Comments on Why the Woman Appointed to a Top Education Department Post Is Under Fire

During Barack Obama’s administration, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights was staffed with “progressives” who were intent on pushing federal policy in ways that advanced their visions of what education should accomplish and how schools must treat students. But as the former president himself observed, “elections have consequences” and we are seeing them in … Continue reading “Why the Woman Appointed to a Top Education Department Post Is Under Fire”

Attaching Strings to “Free” College Education Makes No Sense

Apr 28, 2017 · · 5 Comments on Attaching Strings to “Free” College Education Makes No Sense

Recently, several states have adopted policies that ostensibly make college education free to their residents, but with strings attached to this benefit. The most famous program is undoubtedly New York’s. Under the “Excelsior Scholarships” plan recently signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, state residents who come from families with annual incomes under $125,000 won’t … Continue reading “Attaching Strings to “Free” College Education Makes No Sense”

Microaggressions Put Under the Scholarly Microscope

Apr 21, 2017 · · 17 Comments on Microaggressions Put Under the Scholarly Microscope

The term “microaggression” was coined in 1970 by Harvard professor Chester Pierce, who declared that “Every Black must recognize the offensive mechanisms used by the collective White society, usually by means of cumulative proracist microaggressions, which keep him psychologically accepting of the disenfranchised state.” His phrase lay dormant until 2007, when a number of professors … Continue reading “Microaggressions Put Under the Scholarly Microscope”

If We Can’t Repeal the Higher Education Act, Let’s Improve It

Apr 14, 2017 · · 7 Comments on If We Can’t Repeal the Higher Education Act, Let’s Improve It

The United States got along nicely for its first 176 years without any federal legislation on higher education. (A good reason why there was no such legislation is the absence of any authority for it in the Constitution, but that’s not a point I want to go into here.) In 1965, however, Congress passed and … Continue reading “If We Can’t Repeal the Higher Education Act, Let’s Improve It”

Colleges Try to Get Rid of Inconvenient Professors

Apr 7, 2017 · · 41 Comments on Colleges Try to Get Rid of Inconvenient Professors

College officials have cultivated a nice image for themselves—scholarly people who care deeply about providing the best possible education for their students. The reality, however, is often very different. They can be petty, self-serving, and ideological, sometimes sacrificing educational quality in favor of other objectives. Occasionally, faculty members become inconvenient to the leadership and must … Continue reading “Colleges Try to Get Rid of Inconvenient Professors”

Elite College, Caught in Title IX Web, Goes to Trial Against Wronged Student

Apr 5, 2017 · · 27 Comments on Elite College, Caught in Title IX Web, Goes to Trial Against Wronged Student

Amherst College is one of America’s most prestigious schools. It is run by people with lustrous liberal credentials, eager to show their fidelity to progressive causes, including the battle against the campus “rape culture.” But that eagerness has landed Amherst a lawsuit brought by a student who argues that he was wrongfully expelled. The facts … Continue reading “Elite College, Caught in Title IX Web, Goes to Trial Against Wronged Student”

Another Professor Shouted Down—This Time Over Pronouns

Mar 31, 2017 · · 27 Comments on Another Professor Shouted Down—This Time Over Pronouns

Universities in the United States do not have a monopoly on intolerant and disruptive students. Canada has them too, as shown by a recent incident at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The school had arranged for a panel discussion on the subject of free speech and political correctness in Canada. Four speakers were invited and … Continue reading “Another Professor Shouted Down—This Time Over Pronouns”

Loyalty Oaths Return with Faculty “Diversity Statements”

Mar 29, 2017 · · 19 Comments on Loyalty Oaths Return with Faculty “Diversity Statements”

One of the worst features of America in the 1940s and 50s was the persistent demand for national loyalty oaths. In those days, people were expected to declare their support for the U.S. and if they didn’t, they could be blackballed, expelled, or otherwise punished. The ideological fervor for conformity abated for decades, but has … Continue reading “Loyalty Oaths Return with Faculty “Diversity Statements””