Author Profile

Paul Gottfried

Paul Gottfried is Raffensperger Professor of Humanities Emeritus at
Elizabethtown College. He is the author of eleven books, most recently Leo Strauss and the Conservative Movement in America (Cambridge University Press, 2011), and more than one hundred scholarly articles. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1983.

Articles by Paul Gottfried

A Small College Is Suffering from Self-inflicted Wounds

Feb 24, 2017 · Paul Gottfried · 14 Comments

Recently, one of my neighbors saw students from Elizabethtown College, where I taught for many years, walking down the street wearing what looked like the puzzle pieces featured as symbols by Autistic Awareness. When he asked why they were wearing the all-white puzzle pieces, one of the coeds proudly explained that they were dramatizing the … Continue reading “A Small College Is Suffering from Self-inflicted Wounds”

“Publish or Perish” Isn’t So Bad

Sep 23, 2015 · Paul Gottfried · No Comments

Despite its flaws, the “publish or perish” systerm at least makes sure faculty members aren’t total deadbeats.

The Academy Then and Now

Mar 14, 2014 · Paul Gottfried · No Comments

Academic leftists used to be interested in ideas and arguments; much less so today.

What “Recruiting” Means Today

Sep 16, 2013 · Paul Gottfried · No Comments

Colleges put aside the quest for excellence in favor of candidates with the proper views and characteristics.

How Multiculturalism Transformed My College

Aug 8, 2013 · Paul Gottfried · No Comments

Elizabethtown College leaders fell head over heels for that fad and now the school is much the worse.

Shouts and Protests on Campus Are Signs of a More Pernicious Problem Jun 23, 2017
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the graduating class of Notre Dame, drawing attention to the loss of free speech on American campuses. He denounced the “noxious wave that seems to be rushing over much of academia.” The problem is that this wave is coming from within academia, not “rushing over” it as if from … Continue reading “Shouts and Protests on Campus Are Signs of a More Pernicious Problem”
Budget Cuts to Push Intellectual Diversity? There Are Better Ways Jun 19, 2017
Temperatures in North Carolina may not yet have reached their high point this summer, but tensions certainly are heating up now between the UNC School of Law and the North Carolina General Assembly over the latter’s proposed budget. The North Carolina Senate’s budget proposal, now being debated in the House, includes a $4 million reduction … Continue reading “Budget Cuts to Push Intellectual Diversity? There Are Better Ways”
Administrative Bloat on Campus: Academia Shrinks, Students Suffer Jun 16, 2017
American campuses have drifted away from academia and toward administration. The shift badly impacts the traditional mission of both college and students. Ideally, college infuses knowledge and critical thinking through a free flow of ideas. But modern campuses are ideological battlefields where real debate is discouraged. Ideally, students are exposed to a wide range of … Continue reading “Administrative Bloat on Campus: Academia Shrinks, Students Suffer”

Administrative Bloat on Campus: Academia Shrinks, Students Suffer Jun 16, 2017
American campuses have drifted away from academia and toward administration. The shift badly impacts the traditional mission of both college and students. Ideally, college infuses knowledge and critical thinking through a free flow of ideas. But modern campuses are ideological battlefields where real debate is discouraged. Ideally, students are exposed to a wide range of … Continue reading “Administrative Bloat on Campus: Academia Shrinks, Students Suffer”
A Critical Education Department Position Has Been Filled—and Filled Well Jun 9, 2017
“Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors,” President Trump tweeted on June 5. “They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.” Fortunately for President Trump, many appointments don’t require Senate approval, and a cabinet member may appoint leaders to certain high-level positions within his or her department. This week Secretary of Education Betsy … Continue reading “A Critical Education Department Position Has Been Filled—and Filled Well”
Assessment and Power in the University Jun 7, 2017
Universities have been assessing students by grading their work since the Middle Ages. Sometimes students complained that the professor wasn’t fair, but nobody thought the system was fundamentally flawed. Then, about three decades ago, a new idea arose in American universities—that campus bureaucrats needed to assess student learning outcomes. This occurred as part of a … Continue reading “Assessment and Power in the University”

Shouts and Protests on Campus Are Signs of a More Pernicious Problem Jun 23, 2017
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the graduating class of Notre Dame, drawing attention to the loss of free speech on American campuses. He denounced the “noxious wave that seems to be rushing over much of academia.” The problem is that this wave is coming from within academia, not “rushing over” it as if from … Continue reading “Shouts and Protests on Campus Are Signs of a More Pernicious Problem”
Budget Cuts to Push Intellectual Diversity? There Are Better Ways Jun 19, 2017
Temperatures in North Carolina may not yet have reached their high point this summer, but tensions certainly are heating up now between the UNC School of Law and the North Carolina General Assembly over the latter’s proposed budget. The North Carolina Senate’s budget proposal, now being debated in the House, includes a $4 million reduction … Continue reading “Budget Cuts to Push Intellectual Diversity? There Are Better Ways”
Administrative Bloat on Campus: Academia Shrinks, Students Suffer Jun 16, 2017
American campuses have drifted away from academia and toward administration. The shift badly impacts the traditional mission of both college and students. Ideally, college infuses knowledge and critical thinking through a free flow of ideas. But modern campuses are ideological battlefields where real debate is discouraged. Ideally, students are exposed to a wide range of … Continue reading “Administrative Bloat on Campus: Academia Shrinks, Students Suffer”

Shouts and Protests on Campus Are Signs of a More Pernicious Problem Jun 23, 2017
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the graduating class of Notre Dame, drawing attention to the loss of free speech on American campuses. He denounced the “noxious wave that seems to be rushing over much of academia.” The problem is that this wave is coming from within academia, not “rushing over” it as if from … Continue reading “Shouts and Protests on Campus Are Signs of a More Pernicious Problem”
Perverse Incentives in Science: 21st Century Funding for 20th Century Research Jun 21, 2017
The Paradigm Shift Not long ago I was working with my occasional co-author, an associate dean in the school of economic, political and policy sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, on creating a campus research institute focused on spontaneous orders. That is a field that attempts to explain how social order emerges from … Continue reading “Perverse Incentives in Science: 21st Century Funding for 20th Century Research”
Budget Cuts to Push Intellectual Diversity? There Are Better Ways Jun 19, 2017
Temperatures in North Carolina may not yet have reached their high point this summer, but tensions certainly are heating up now between the UNC School of Law and the North Carolina General Assembly over the latter’s proposed budget. The North Carolina Senate’s budget proposal, now being debated in the House, includes a $4 million reduction … Continue reading “Budget Cuts to Push Intellectual Diversity? There Are Better Ways”