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 · 32 Comments

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 · 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.

Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections? Sep 24, 2018
Free speech on campus has become a point of concern for many. News reports describe speakers being disinvited from campus or shouted down. Events such as students being arrested for giving away free copies of the U.S. Constitution on a college campus have become ordinary. North Carolina has not been immune to this worrisome trend. In … Continue reading “Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections?”
Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great Sep 19, 2018
In recent years, the media has given us dire warnings about the “crisis of the humanities.” In article after article, one reads about falling enrollments in college English departments and funding cuts. Inside Higher Ed, a popular website that covers higher education, reports that English majors have declined 20 percent since 2012. History programs have … Continue reading “Why Humanities Programs Suffer as the Humanities Themselves Do Great”
Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools Sep 12, 2018
Many professors cannot resist the temptation to smuggle their personal beliefs into the courses they teach. As long as those beliefs are “progressive,” there is little chance that higher-ups in their departments or top administrators will try to rein them in. For example, engineering has been infiltrated by activists who are concerned about social justice … Continue reading “Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools”

A New Campus Invention for Policing Speech Sep 17, 2018
Colleges are using a new tool with the frightening potential to shut down open dialogue. They go by the benign-sounding name of “bias response teams.” Bias response teams monitor what students and faculty say. They encourage students to report, often anonymously, comments or behavior that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened, even if the speech … Continue reading “A New Campus Invention for Policing Speech”
Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools Sep 12, 2018
Many professors cannot resist the temptation to smuggle their personal beliefs into the courses they teach. As long as those beliefs are “progressive,” there is little chance that higher-ups in their departments or top administrators will try to rein them in. For example, engineering has been infiltrated by activists who are concerned about social justice … Continue reading “Social Justice Teaching Has Invaded Business Schools”
How Political Indoctrination Destroyed the Promise of Learning in College Writing Courses Sep 7, 2018
By wide agreement of writing professors and composition scholars, new freshmen arrive not only ill-prepared for college writing but many show little improvement after four years of undergraduate education. In 2002 the College Board established the National Commission on Writing, which found “growing concern within the education, business, and policy-making communities that the level of … Continue reading “How Political Indoctrination Destroyed the Promise of Learning in College Writing Courses”

Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections? Sep 24, 2018
Free speech on campus has become a point of concern for many. News reports describe speakers being disinvited from campus or shouted down. Events such as students being arrested for giving away free copies of the U.S. Constitution on a college campus have become ordinary. North Carolina has not been immune to this worrisome trend. In … Continue reading “Have North Carolina Colleges Improved Their Free Speech Protections?”
Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? A Review of Campus Speech Codes Sep 23, 2018
This report examines the speech and assembly protections for students and faculty members at North Carolina’s universities, both public and private. It is a follow-up to the 2010 report, “Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? A Review of Campus Speech Codes.” In the eight years since the publication of that report, North Carolina … Continue reading “Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? A Review of Campus Speech Codes”
Gaming the System: How Kentucky Spends Funding for Students on Athletics Sep 21, 2018
Kentuckians were forced to consider potential problems with intercollegiate athletics when both the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky were implicated in the recent FBI probe into possibly corrupt and fraudulent recruiting practices in college basketball. Amid the outrage, politicians raised the possibility of serious reforms, such as expanding the oversight of Boards … Continue reading “Gaming the System: How Kentucky Spends Funding for Students on Athletics”