Four years ago, brothers at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at UNC Wilmington (UNCW) brought campus due process—or lack thereof—into the sunlight. The young men had been accused of hazing and underage drinking. Although the students were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, they endured an unfair and onerous investigation and adjudication process to prove their … Continue reading “Due Process: Restoring a Fundamental Right on Campus”
The budget released by the North Carolina Senate in early May sets a careful course for higher education. It includes modest increases over last year’s budget for both the University of North Carolina system and the state’s community college system. It also includes several policy changes aimed at making higher education more transparent and efficient. … Continue reading “Senate Budget Is Prudent, Predictable (And That’s a Good Thing)”
Student intolerance and opposition to free speech have been gaining momentum. What began as isolated incidents at the University of Missouri and Yale University in fall 2015 quickly spread to other universities, leading to individuals being targeted for simply expressing their opinions. Recent rioting that prevented a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley, and … Continue reading “NC Joins Growing List of States Seeking to Protect Campus Free Speech”
The Faculty Senate at Wake Forest University made headlines last week when it demanded that the university reject a $3.69 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation. Such a stance is not unusual. Many liberal faculty members and student groups are now trying to “UnKoch” their campuses. But Wake Forest’s Faculty Senate resolution goes further. … Continue reading “Wake Forest Faculty Attempt to Undermine Koch-Funded Campus Institute”
In 2015, Time magazine reported that there had been 23 shootings on college and university campuses that year, including an attack at a community college in Oregon that claimed 10 lives. Prompted by such headlines, lawmakers have started taking a closer look at policies regulating weapons on campus. But states’ reactions have varied according to … Continue reading “Evidence, Not Emotion, Should Guide the Campus Concealed Carry Debate”
Since 2010, the UNC system’s Board of Governors has become somewhat more conservative and more interested in serious educational reforms. Members of the Board have professed interest in decreasing costs, rolling back university mission creep, and improving academic standards. But progress has been slow. Part of the problem can be attributed to the structure of … Continue reading “Five Questions to Ask Future UNC Board Members”
Testifying before the U.S. Senate in 2013, University of Wisconsin professor Sara Goldrick-Rab described college campuses as “glorified summer camps.” She said administrators were “engaging in an arms race to have the most impressive bells and whistles.” That depiction may at first seem hyperbolic, but even a cursory glance at many of today’s college campuses … Continue reading “Bigger’s Better? In Higher Ed’s Amenities Arms Race, Bigger’s Just Bigger!”
It’s been more than five years since whistleblowers uncovered extensive academic fraud at UNC-Chapel Hill. Now, the NCAA has released its third notice of allegations against the school. But, so far, there have been no official sanctions. Other schools have been less fortunate. Many have faced swift punishment from the NCAA for academic misconduct. The severity of the sanctions … Continue reading “Poll: How Should the NCAA Punish Academic Violations?”
As each year comes to a close, I take some time to review what the Pope Center accomplished during the previous 52 weeks, to analyze what challenges we still face, and to plan for what awaits us in January and beyond. None of our work here would be possible without you, so I wanted to … Continue reading “Your Generosity Is Helping to Improve Higher Education”
In his new video “Just Say ‘Merry Christmas,’” Dennis Prager argues that efforts to replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” are misguided. In the name of “inclusivity,” he says, we are excluding the roughly 90 percent of Americans who celebrate Christmas. Such inclusivity efforts go back many years. In 2008, for example, the Pope Center reported … Continue reading “Merry Christmas!”