Author Profile

Gerard Alexander

Gerard Alexander is an associate professor of politics at the University of Virginia. He is author of The Sources of Democratic Consolidation and scholarly articles on empirical democratic theory, institutional change, and conditions for democratic stability. He has also written on U.S. politics in the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Review, the Weekly Standard, and the Claremont Review of Books.

Articles by Gerard Alexander

Political Science Needs More Viewpoint Diversity

Sep 2, 2016 · Gerard Alexander · 4 Comments

Would academic political science benefit from more viewpoint diversity? Let’s start with the good news, which is that political science isn’t nearly the worst-off discipline on campus. This is not because its intellectual demographics are so great. Surveys, such as this one, of faculty members’ voter registration data suggest that poli sci does not contain … Continue reading “Political Science Needs More Viewpoint Diversity”

A War Against ‘Normal’ May 29, 2020
A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the academy in 2018 by hoaxing several “grievance studies” journals that publish shoddy activist scholarship. Their book, “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”
Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online May 28, 2020
Higher ed leaders have bemoaned what they see as insufficient federal support during the coronavirus pandemic, but they might have a bigger problem: convincing students to enroll in the fall. A recent survey found that about one-third of high school seniors will defer or cancel starting their freshman year of college if classes are online-only. … Continue reading “Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online”
Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment? May 27, 2020
Recently, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced that he was in favor of a plan to make college education free–for most students at public institutions anyway. Why? Because too many students are supposedly being kept out of college due to its cost. Even though much of the expense of public higher education is already borne by … Continue reading “Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment?”

A War Against ‘Normal’ May 29, 2020
A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the academy in 2018 by hoaxing several “grievance studies” journals that publish shoddy activist scholarship. Their book, “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”
New Title IX Regulations Restore Due Process–But There’s a Battle Ahead May 15, 2020
In the latest case where a male student sued his college over the unfair procedures it used to expel him, Colgate University in New York will go to trial. So ruled federal district judge Frederick Scullin on April 30. In his opinion, the plaintiff student had presented sufficient evidence of bias against him for the … Continue reading “New Title IX Regulations Restore Due Process–But There’s a Battle Ahead”
The Academic and Social Benefits of Homeschooling May 13, 2020
Homeschooling works. The roughly 2 million children who currently learn at home join a millennia-old practice supported by many government officials, scholars, college officials, and employers. While mainstream America has embraced homeschooling as a viable and positive educational option—and as 55 million K-12 students and their parents have been thrust into “crisis-teaching at home”—the angst … Continue reading “The Academic and Social Benefits of Homeschooling”

A War Against ‘Normal’ May 29, 2020
A question of power is at the heart of the new and interesting book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. The Anglo-American liberal duo did a tremendous service to the academy in 2018 by hoaxing several “grievance studies” journals that publish shoddy activist scholarship. Their book, “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, … Continue reading “A War Against ‘Normal’”
Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online May 28, 2020
Higher ed leaders have bemoaned what they see as insufficient federal support during the coronavirus pandemic, but they might have a bigger problem: convincing students to enroll in the fall. A recent survey found that about one-third of high school seniors will defer or cancel starting their freshman year of college if classes are online-only. … Continue reading “Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online”
Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment? May 27, 2020
Recently, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced that he was in favor of a plan to make college education free–for most students at public institutions anyway. Why? Because too many students are supposedly being kept out of college due to its cost. Even though much of the expense of public higher education is already borne by … Continue reading “Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment?”