Author Profile

Phillip W. Magness

Phillip W. Magness is a Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, and the co-author of the forthcoming book Cracks in the Ivory Tower: the Moral Mess of Higher Education.

Articles by Phillip W. Magness

No, There Is Not a “Neoliberal” Poltergeist in Higher Ed

Aug 24, 2022 · and · Comments Off on No, There Is Not a “Neoliberal” Poltergeist in Higher Ed

Higher education suffers from a multitude of flaws. University marketing departments habitually over-promise the benefits of their degree programs to unsuspecting high-school students. Mandatory “general education” classes extract sizable tuition fees from students while delivering little discernible benefit in knowledge or critical thinking skills. A student-debt crisis leaves college graduates in the financial hole for … Continue reading “No, There Is Not a “Neoliberal” Poltergeist in Higher Ed”

Fit to Print? UNC’s Settlement with Nikole Hannah-Jones is Bad News

Aug 1, 2022 · and · Comments Off on Fit to Print? UNC’s Settlement with Nikole Hannah-Jones is Bad News

A reporter who hasn’t dreamt of one day writing for the New York Times is a rare bird. “I’ll start with my local newspaper,” they tell themselves. “Then I’ll move on to a statewide paper, before making a name for myself at something with a national readership. From there, I’ll be drafted into service at … Continue reading “Fit to Print? UNC’s Settlement with Nikole Hannah-Jones is Bad News”

The Purely Imaginary ‘Rightward Transformation’ in Higher Education

Jul 31, 2019 · · Comments Off on The Purely Imaginary ‘Rightward Transformation’ in Higher Education

One of the most peculiar claims to gain currency in higher education holds that academia has become captive to nefarious monied interests on the political right. Writings in this genre almost always hail from scholars on the left, and attribute a variety of problems in the academy—both real and imagined—to the ulterior-motived influence of conservative … Continue reading “The Purely Imaginary ‘Rightward Transformation’ in Higher Education”

What the Hoax Papers Tell Us about the Decline of Academic Standards

Nov 28, 2018 · · Comments Off on What the Hoax Papers Tell Us about the Decline of Academic Standards

By now, most followers of the higher education press have heard of the “grievance studies” or Sokal Squared hoax. In this incident, a team of three researchers successfully published several hoax papers on intentionally absurd subjects in ostensibly serious scholarly journals. Their purpose was to demonstrate the susceptibility of these venues to low-quality, ideologically charged … Continue reading “What the Hoax Papers Tell Us about the Decline of Academic Standards”

Are Full-Time Faculty Being Adjunctified? Recent Data Show Otherwise

May 19, 2017 · · Comments Off on Are Full-Time Faculty Being Adjunctified? Recent Data Show Otherwise

The “adjunctification” phenomenon is a familiar concern to most recent Ph.D. graduates, as well as a recurring criticism of perceived trends in faculty employment. One professor recently wrote that it was a professional “shame.” This issue seems to have hit a boiling point in the past few years, with a multitude of articles and reports … Continue reading “Are Full-Time Faculty Being Adjunctified? Recent Data Show Otherwise”