Author Profile

Jane S. Shaw

Jane S. Shaw was president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy until February 2015, when she retired and joined the Pope Center's board of directors. Before joining the center in 2006, she was a senior fellow of PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana.

Before moving in to higher education policy, Shaw was a frequent writer and speaker on environmental topics. With Michael Sanera she coauthored Facts, Not Fear: Teaching Children about the Environment (Regnery 1999). She coedited A Guide to Smart Growth: Shattering Myths and Providing Solutions (Heritage Foundation, 2000) with Ronald Utt. Before joining PERC in 1984, she was an associate economics editor of Business Week. Shaw has a B.A. in English literature from Wellesley College. At that time her name was Jane Steidemann.

Shaw is a past president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, editorial adviser to Econ Journal Watch, a member of the Editorial Advisory Panel of Regulation, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Council of the Institute of Economic Affairs (London). She is married to Richard L. Stroup.

Articles by Jane S. Shaw

A mini scandal amid a maxi push for federal control

Apr 30, 2007 ·

It’s happening beneath the radar of most media and the public, but it is a major conflict, nonetheless. The prize that is being fought over is accreditation – who decides which schools are “good enough” so that their students can receive federal financial aid (such as Pell grants).

Nominally, eight regional associations accredit most of the nation’s undergraduate school (they divide up the country like a cartel, says George Leef, and have little competition). But dissatisfaction with these organizations is strong, especially from Department of Education secretary Margaret Spellings. She is trying to persuade the accreditors to measure student learning, rather than tally inputs such as the number of books in the library.

Guns, Troubled Students, and Campus Security

Apr 23, 2007 ·

Last week, Pope Center writer Shannon Blosser expressed our sorrow at the lives horribly cut short by the massacre at Virginia Tech. He said that it was wrong to “play the blame game,” as some of the media had started to do, so quickly after the tragedy. It was more appropriate, he said, to honor the victims whose lives ended so suddenly.

There would be time to examine the causes of this tragedy and consider future policies. Now is the time. Indeed, in blogs and op-eds, commentators have addressed three major issues: guns, university dealings with troubled students, and campus security, as well as made broader societal statements.

Where the Money Is?

Feb 20, 2007 ·

The Raleigh News and Observer has been quarrelling with a group based in Chapel Hill called the Citizens for Higher Education (CHE). CHE is the second-largest political action committee (PAC) in the state, measured by the amounts of money given to legislators. Its goal is to ”build political support for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state’s other research universities.” In other words, it lobbies the legislature to obtain special benefits for the state’s leading public campuses.

UNC to propose minimum admissions standards

Jan 17, 2007 ·

The University of North Carolina is considering a minimum admission standard for all campuses, Harold L. Martin, senior vice president for academic affairs, told a meeting of the education planning committee of the Board of Governors Jan. 11. Such a standard could be proposed as early as June.

Currently, the requirement for attending any UNC campus is high school graduation and a minimum number of specified courses (such as 4 units of English and 4 units of math). A tougher admission standard could take the form of a minimum high school grade point average, class rank, and/or a minimum SAT score.

North Carolina State Faculty Challenge Potential Donation

Jan 9, 2007 ·

Outspoken faculty members with a strong political agenda have once again interfered in discussions about a potential donation to a North Carolina university.

Toby Parcel, dean of the College of Humanities and Social
Sciences at North Carolina State University, had quietly approached the Pope Foundation to explore funding for academic programs. But in a stormy public meeting in early December, some faculty members loudly and rudely made it clear that they don’t want their college to get any money from Pope.

Apparently opposing the Pope Foundation for its conservative political philosophy, several faculty members used over-the-top language, calling the money “dirty money” and saying that to accept funds would be “a very dangerous step.” (The discussions had involved support of a study abroad program and French and German language programs.)

Higher Education Would Benefit From an Economic Perspective

Nov 13, 2006 ·

It is often said that the United States has the best system of higher education in the world, and certainly North Carolinians take pride in their universities. But readers of these pages know that the image often differs from the reality.

While there are some excellent courses, all too frequently students are getting trendy and shallow courses such as those described in CJ’s Course of the Month. As George Leef has written, academic standards are falling, even while grades are going up. Today, college graduation is more a rite of passage than a sign of accomplishment.
How do we get our universities to adopt a more rigorous curriculum and provide young people with an education that values liberty, limited government, and free markets? These are questions that the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy has asked and will continue to address.