Author Profile

Harry Painter

Harry Painter joined the Pope Center in 2014. He has a B.A. in English from Saint Mary's College of California and an M.A. in political science from the American University in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his work with the Pope Center, Harry writes part-time for Judgepedia, a project of the Lucy Burns Institute in Madison, Wisconsin. Previously, he has written about music for Consequence of Sound, a Chicago-based blog. While living in Washington, he worked as an intern in social media and research at the Institute for Humane Studies and at the Cato Institute. He also worked part-time educating middle- and high-school students at conferences for Envision Experience.

Harry is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Articles by Harry Painter

The libertarian roots of the Lumina Foundation, Part I

Apr 3, 2015 · · Comments Off on The libertarian roots of the Lumina Foundation, Part I

Major donors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Lumina Foundation dominate higher education philanthropy today. Most are aware of the Gates Foundation’s roots in Bill’s vast wealth, but the story of how Lumina came to be is more complicated.

UNC-Chapel Hill nudges students into a conversation about race

Mar 30, 2015 · · Comments Off on UNC-Chapel Hill nudges students into a conversation about race

UNC-Chapel Hill has launched Carolina Conversations, an initiative designed to provide forums for students to discuss sensitive topics. UNC-CH will do this in three ways: sponsor regular large-scale town-hall-style forums called My Carolina Voice, smaller gatherings called Carolina Pulse, and My Chance, a process whereby students can apply for school funding for “grassroots interactions.”

“Rubber stamping” is the norm at the State Board of Community Colleges

Feb 2, 2015 · · Comments Off on “Rubber stamping” is the norm at the State Board of Community Colleges

Attend a North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges meeting and you are likely to fall asleep as board members and community college system office staffers take turns dispassionately checking off the month’s agenda items to unanimous approval.

How the president’s "free community college" proposal will affect one state

Jan 16, 2015 · · Comments Off on How the president’s "free community college" proposal will affect one state

The new federal proposal that the president is calling "America’s College Promise" is short on details but has inspired much commentary.

We’ll hear more on Tuesday in the State of the Union address and in President Obama’s next budget proposal, but he gave us enough information about the idea in a speech for us to estimate the potential program’s cost to North Carolina taxpayers.

Doubts about the integrity of Confucius Institutes lead to mounting criticism

Dec 15, 2014 · · Comments Off on Doubts about the integrity of Confucius Institutes lead to mounting criticism

What are the limits of the partnerships that a public institution of higher education may form? A growing number of critics, including university officials and faculty, argue that accepting funding and academic influence from the communist Chinese government crosses a line.

UNC-Chapel Hill goes after binge drinking, but the real enemy may be date rape

Nov 24, 2014 · · Comments Off on UNC-Chapel Hill goes after binge drinking, but the real enemy may be date rape

In 2012, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman with a blood level of alcohol nearly three times the legal limit was found dead. Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, saw this as indicative of a nationwide problem—one he has been working to address since then.