Author Profile

Lou Buttino

Lou Buttino, with three graduate degrees, is the author of books, produced plays, and an optioned screenplay. An award-winning filmmaker, his numerous documentaries have been broadcast on PBS, NPR, and ESPN. He’s received a New York State Press Association Award, lectured at Harvard, Brown, and Syracuse University, and given the main address at numerous public events. He’s traveled to South Africa under Apartheid, and a Nicaragua at war. Currently, Dr. Buttino completed a new documentary, Going Home: Memoir of a Small Town, and a combined book and documentary proposal titled Fathers Who Remade America—and The Children Left Behind: Lincoln, JFK and Dr. King.

Articles by Lou Buttino

Faculty Accountability Is Terrible—Even Students Have Better Standards

Apr 23, 2018 · Lou Buttino · No Comments

I became interested in academic accountability within the university because I had no choice: the lack of accountability I experienced at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington obligated me to act. I had become embroiled in a situation where I was morally bound to report wrongdoing. But I had no idea that being a … Continue reading “Faculty Accountability Is Terrible—Even Students Have Better Standards”

Is Faculty Accountability Lacking at UNC Wilmington?

Feb 19, 2018 · Lou Buttino · No Comments

In my 45 years of teaching I have never filed an academic complaint against another faculty member—nor has one ever been filed against me. I have long believed that this demonstrates the overwhelming integrity of the teaching profession. But in 2012, as a professor and former chair in film studies at the University of North … Continue reading “Is Faculty Accountability Lacking at UNC Wilmington?”

‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments Nov 23, 2020
Inevitably, college music departments have succumbed to pressure to promote “social justice” and fight racism. It’s hard to see much injustice or racism in music, but that doesn’t matter to activists intent on showing that they’re in the vanguard of America’s transformation. Consider, for example, the announcement back in September by the music department at … Continue reading “‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments”
The Case Against the Cult of Critical Thinking Nov 20, 2020
To speak against critical thinking in today’s academy is comparable to denying the divinity of Jesus in the medieval church—it’s heterodox. Not only does it rail against the values of contemporary scholarship, it may even be foolish in light of today’s students. Isn’t the lack of critical thinking the problem in modern society? Here’s how … Continue reading “The Case Against the Cult of Critical Thinking”
Did You Know? For Some Post-Graduate Plans, Employer Tuition Reimbursements Is the Way Nov 19, 2020
Many students since the pandemic have questioned whether they should attend graduate school or change their career plans altogether. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that 17 percent of graduate students said their career plans changed since the pandemic started. Students are now worried they cannot afford graduate school. According to a 2020 Pew Research … Continue reading “Did You Know? For Some Post-Graduate Plans, Employer Tuition Reimbursements Is the Way”

Heavy Is the Head that Wears the Crown Nov 16, 2020
Since 2015, the University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors (BOG) has endured one controversy after another, beginning with protests over decisions to close three “academic centers” for being overly political and to replace Democrat Thomas Ross as the system president with Republican Margaret Spellings. Some of the problems have been of the board’s … Continue reading “Heavy Is the Head that Wears the Crown”
The Last Refuge of Pure Meritocracy Nov 6, 2020
Racial consideration for college admissions hearkens back to Grutter v. Bollinger, the landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 2003. It held that affirmative action programs can pass muster as long as they are “narrowly tailored” in order to achieve the “compelling interest” of promoting diversity on college campuses. Colleges across the country have since … Continue reading “The Last Refuge of Pure Meritocracy”
Police Education Is Not Police Training: Virtue Signaling Is Not the Road to Improvement Oct 30, 2020
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, a number of colleges have cut back their interactions with local police departments and are redesigning their law enforcement programs. The University of Minnesota (UM) was one of the first to accede to faculty and student demands to cut ties with local police. The university scaled back its … Continue reading “Police Education Is Not Police Training: Virtue Signaling Is Not the Road to Improvement”

‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments Nov 23, 2020
Inevitably, college music departments have succumbed to pressure to promote “social justice” and fight racism. It’s hard to see much injustice or racism in music, but that doesn’t matter to activists intent on showing that they’re in the vanguard of America’s transformation. Consider, for example, the announcement back in September by the music department at … Continue reading “‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments”
The Case Against the Cult of Critical Thinking Nov 20, 2020
To speak against critical thinking in today’s academy is comparable to denying the divinity of Jesus in the medieval church—it’s heterodox. Not only does it rail against the values of contemporary scholarship, it may even be foolish in light of today’s students. Isn’t the lack of critical thinking the problem in modern society? Here’s how … Continue reading “The Case Against the Cult of Critical Thinking”
Did You Know? For Some Post-Graduate Plans, Employer Tuition Reimbursements Is the Way Nov 19, 2020
Many students since the pandemic have questioned whether they should attend graduate school or change their career plans altogether. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that 17 percent of graduate students said their career plans changed since the pandemic started. Students are now worried they cannot afford graduate school. According to a 2020 Pew Research … Continue reading “Did You Know? For Some Post-Graduate Plans, Employer Tuition Reimbursements Is the Way”