Macalester College: Liberal Arts or Monoculture?

Aug 28, 2019 · Robert Spaulding · No Comments

Macalester College is a small (2,000-plus students), highly regarded, and very selective liberal arts college in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is proud of its liberal reputation and international outlook, and touts as past faculty vice presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, as well as undergraduate Kofi Anan, previous head of the United Nations. Macalester boasts … Continue reading “Macalester College: Liberal Arts or Monoculture?”

My Alumni Weekend at Macalester

Aug 22, 2013 · Robert Spaulding · No Comments

A 1964 graduate reflects on the damage done to his school by relentless politicization.

What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology Sep 20, 2019
Jenna A. Robinson, President Jacques Barzun’s magnum opus, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, has been a revelation—of my own inadequate history education. As the title says, the book covers 500 years of Western culture from 1500 to (almost) 2000. Barzun organizes the book around four important “revolutions:” religious, monarchical, liberal, and … Continue reading “What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology”
Did You Know? 86 Colleges Have Closed or Merged Since 2016 Sep 19, 2019
Since 2016, colleges and universities have fought to stay open as enrollments fall, especially liberal arts colleges. Many colleges are adding more certificate programs in technology fields and dropping low-enrollment humanities programs. The threat has been most acute for small liberal-arts colleges with small endowments that rely on tuition for most of their revenue. To … Continue reading “Did You Know? 86 Colleges Have Closed or Merged Since 2016”
Which Country’s Higher Education System Is Best? Sep 18, 2019
Many Americans crow that our higher education system is “the envy of the world,” even though it’s nearly impossible to point to any proof of that. In truth, however, some Americans look down on our system, saying that it is clearly inferior to that of other nations, such as Japan and Finland. A recent study … Continue reading “Which Country’s Higher Education System Is Best?”

Macalester College: Liberal Arts or Monoculture? Aug 28, 2019
Macalester College is a small (2,000-plus students), highly regarded, and very selective liberal arts college in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is proud of its liberal reputation and international outlook, and touts as past faculty vice presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, as well as undergraduate Kofi Anan, previous head of the United Nations. Macalester boasts … Continue reading “Macalester College: Liberal Arts or Monoculture?”
A Psychological Profile of the New Campus Activist Aug 19, 2019
A certain anger at society seems to pervade the academy today. Hardly a week goes by without hearing about outraged students either demanding recompense for some perceived injustice or attempting to shut down an invited speaker. Between professors who spread neo-Marxist ideologies, administrators who enforce an extreme political correctness on campus, and peer pressure to … Continue reading “A Psychological Profile of the New Campus Activist”
Did You Know? Democrats Dominate Professorships Aug 15, 2019
The dominance of registered Democrats to Republicans in academia is becoming more and more apparent. In the sample provided by Mitchell Langbert of the National Association of Scholars, 39 percent of academic departments have no Republican faculty member. He also found that the mean ratio of Democrats to Republicans is 10.4 to 1 after examining … Continue reading “Did You Know? Democrats Dominate Professorships”

What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology Sep 20, 2019
Jenna A. Robinson, President Jacques Barzun’s magnum opus, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, has been a revelation—of my own inadequate history education. As the title says, the book covers 500 years of Western culture from 1500 to (almost) 2000. Barzun organizes the book around four important “revolutions:” religious, monarchical, liberal, and … Continue reading “What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology”
Did You Know? 86 Colleges Have Closed or Merged Since 2016 Sep 19, 2019
Since 2016, colleges and universities have fought to stay open as enrollments fall, especially liberal arts colleges. Many colleges are adding more certificate programs in technology fields and dropping low-enrollment humanities programs. The threat has been most acute for small liberal-arts colleges with small endowments that rely on tuition for most of their revenue. To … Continue reading “Did You Know? 86 Colleges Have Closed or Merged Since 2016”
Which Country’s Higher Education System Is Best? Sep 18, 2019
Many Americans crow that our higher education system is “the envy of the world,” even though it’s nearly impossible to point to any proof of that. In truth, however, some Americans look down on our system, saying that it is clearly inferior to that of other nations, such as Japan and Finland. A recent study … Continue reading “Which Country’s Higher Education System Is Best?”

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Robert Spaulding

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My Alumni Weekend at Macalester