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.

A Conversation with the Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill Mar 30, 2020
On December 13th, 2019, Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz became the 12th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to his appointment, he had been serving as interim chancellor after Carol Folt abruptly resigned in January 2019. Guskiewicz took leadership during a time of upheaval on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus. Before resigning, Folt ordered … Continue reading “A Conversation with the Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill”
A Scholar’s Lament Mar 27, 2020
Professor John Ellis has served on college faculties since 1963 and is now an emeritus professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz. He has witnessed enormous changes in higher education over his years and he finds those changes to be deplorable. In his new book The Breakdown of Higher Education, Ellis explains how our system … Continue reading “A Scholar’s Lament”
How Tulsa University Was Turned into Toxic University Mar 25, 2020
Suffering from self-inflicted wounds, the University of Tulsa is sick and getting sicker. This is a case study in how “progressive” academic leadership can wreck a once-excellent university. Last April 11, the university’s administration rolled out “True Commitment,” a radical restructuring that gutted the liberal arts, raised course loads, dissolved academic departments, and effectively turned … Continue reading “How Tulsa University Was Turned into Toxic University”

A Scholar’s Lament Mar 27, 2020
Professor John Ellis has served on college faculties since 1963 and is now an emeritus professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz. He has witnessed enormous changes in higher education over his years and he finds those changes to be deplorable. In his new book The Breakdown of Higher Education, Ellis explains how our system … Continue reading “A Scholar’s Lament”
How Tulsa University Was Turned into Toxic University Mar 25, 2020
Suffering from self-inflicted wounds, the University of Tulsa is sick and getting sicker. This is a case study in how “progressive” academic leadership can wreck a once-excellent university. Last April 11, the university’s administration rolled out “True Commitment,” a radical restructuring that gutted the liberal arts, raised course loads, dissolved academic departments, and effectively turned … Continue reading “How Tulsa University Was Turned into Toxic University”
After Renowned Psychologist Testifies at Weinstein Trial, NYU Revokes Invitation Mar 20, 2020
Elizabeth Loftus is perhaps one of the world’s most renowned cognitive psychologists. She is a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California-Irvine where she lectures about the cognitive sciences and in the law school. She has influenced the field with decades of research focusing on the malleability of memory. She has written 23 … Continue reading “After Renowned Psychologist Testifies at Weinstein Trial, NYU Revokes Invitation”

A Conversation with the Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill Mar 30, 2020
On December 13th, 2019, Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz became the 12th chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to his appointment, he had been serving as interim chancellor after Carol Folt abruptly resigned in January 2019. Guskiewicz took leadership during a time of upheaval on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus. Before resigning, Folt ordered … Continue reading “A Conversation with the Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill”
A Scholar’s Lament Mar 27, 2020
Professor John Ellis has served on college faculties since 1963 and is now an emeritus professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz. He has witnessed enormous changes in higher education over his years and he finds those changes to be deplorable. In his new book The Breakdown of Higher Education, Ellis explains how our system … Continue reading “A Scholar’s Lament”
Did You Know? The Highest Coaching Salaries in the UNC System Mar 26, 2020
College athletics is big business. And head coaches of successful teams have the salaries to prove it, particularly in football and men’s basketball. Although sports are canceled, for now, it’s worth taking a look at spending on coaches’ salaries. Across the UNC system, the average pay of head coaches varies widely. The table below shows … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Highest Coaching Salaries in the UNC System”

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Robert Spaulding

Articles by Robert Spaulding

My Alumni Weekend at Macalester