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

Sorry, Students, but I Have Never Espoused Racism or White Supremacy

Jan 19, 2018 · Paul Gottfried · Comments Off

As I watched the antics of the hooded “Antifa” mobs at Berkeley and other large universities last year, I thought that I’d missed something in my many years as a college professor. Unlike Milo Yiannopoulos, Ann Coulter, Charles Murray, and other dissenters from the leftist academic consensus, I had never been assailed by raging anti-fascist … Continue reading “Sorry, Students, but I Have Never Espoused Racism or White Supremacy”

A Small College Is Suffering from Self-inflicted Wounds

Feb 24, 2017 · Paul Gottfried · Comments Off

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 · Comments Off

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 · Comments Off

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

What “Recruiting” Means Today

Sep 16, 2013 · Paul Gottfried · Comments Off

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 · Comments Off

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

Tenure’s False Promise Jun 29, 2022
Although tenure has been hotly debated over the years, it is still widely misunderstood as guaranteeing a professor a lifetime position. What happened in May to Joshua Katz, a classics professor at Princeton, calls into question this assumption and, by extension, raises a question about the rights of an individual in our legal system. Katz’s … Continue reading “Tenure’s False Promise”
Did You Know? New College to Launch in Wake Forest This Fall Jun 23, 2022
Thales College, a new undergraduate institution launching this fall in Wake Forest, N.C., is eagerly preparing to open its doors to its inaugural class. Thales College is a unique institution with a fresh vision for higher ed: rigorous academics and effective professional preparation joined with a commitment to affordability not often found among other higher … Continue reading “Did You Know? New College to Launch in Wake Forest This Fall”
The Limits of Expertise Jun 22, 2022
As a professor devoted to his college’s “pre-disciplinary” core curriculum, I was hooked by David Epstein’s title, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. The book is chock-full of anecdotes and evidence that people with breadth or range—indeed, amateurs in the true sense of the word—can contribute immensely to enterprises in environments that seem, … Continue reading “The Limits of Expertise”

How UT-Austin Administrators Destroyed an Intellectual Diversity Initiative Jul 1, 2022
By now, only the most dishonest or intentionally ignorant observers deny the existential crisis facing higher education. Universities no longer even maintain the pretense of dispassionate rational and free inquiry, focusing instead on a particularly toxic and frankly absurd form of “social-justice” activism, increasingly even in the hard sciences. Why does this situation persist? Here, … Continue reading “How UT-Austin Administrators Destroyed an Intellectual Diversity Initiative”
In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse Jun 27, 2022
Presidents of prestigious universities often make outrageous decisions inconsistent with such bedrock values as freedom of expression and providing the accused with traditional American due process. The shameful manner in which Princeton University fired Joshua Katz, a distinguished scholar and winner of several teaching awards, leads me to consider Christopher Eisgruber to be the worst … Continue reading “In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse”
Remembering Title IX Abuses Jun 24, 2022
Recently, Title IX has been in the news because of the Biden administration’s promised (and, as of yesterday, delivered) rejection of much-needed Trump-era reforms. As we are approaching the 50th anniversary of the statute, introduced as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, it is worth revisiting the history of Title IX and reviewing its … Continue reading “Remembering Title IX Abuses”

How UT-Austin Administrators Destroyed an Intellectual Diversity Initiative Jul 1, 2022
By now, only the most dishonest or intentionally ignorant observers deny the existential crisis facing higher education. Universities no longer even maintain the pretense of dispassionate rational and free inquiry, focusing instead on a particularly toxic and frankly absurd form of “social-justice” activism, increasingly even in the hard sciences. Why does this situation persist? Here, … Continue reading “How UT-Austin Administrators Destroyed an Intellectual Diversity Initiative”
Did You Know? Student Loan “Pauses” Help Those Who Can Afford to Pay Jun 30, 2022
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers implemented sweeping relief programs to offset the economic shock of lockdowns, layoffs, and shifts in consumer behavior. Among these actions was a provision for the blanket forbearance of student loan debt for 42.3 million borrowers. Despite the well-intentioned nature of such “payment freeze” policies, little was initially … Continue reading “Did You Know? Student Loan “Pauses” Help Those Who Can Afford to Pay”
Tenure’s False Promise Jun 29, 2022
Although tenure has been hotly debated over the years, it is still widely misunderstood as guaranteeing a professor a lifetime position. What happened in May to Joshua Katz, a classics professor at Princeton, calls into question this assumption and, by extension, raises a question about the rights of an individual in our legal system. Katz’s … Continue reading “Tenure’s False Promise”