Author Profile

Trent Bertrand

Trent Bertrand, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor of international economics at Johns Hopkins University who has also taught at Cornell, SUNY Binghamton, Princeton, Vanderbilt, the University of Hawaii, Queen’s and McGill universities in Canada, and Thamasat University in Thailand. He was formerly Chief of the Economics and Policy Division in the Agriculture and Rural Development Department and Senior Economist in the Country Policy Division at the World Bank.

Articles by Trent Bertrand

My University Treated Me Like a Criminal Over a Joke

Jul 19, 2017 · Trent Bertrand · 198 Comments

For the past six years, I have taught an undergraduate course on international economics at Johns Hopkins University. Most of my students thought it was a very good course. So I was shocked when, on December 6, 2016, I was met at the door of my classroom by Johns Hopkins security personnel and barred from … Continue reading “My University Treated Me Like a Criminal Over a Joke”

David Horowitz’s Insight About the Academic Left Oct 18, 2017
For a few years in the mid-2000s, David Horowitz was one of the most prominent figures on the campus scene. He didn’t have a PhD and he didn’t belong to any discipline or department. He was, instead, a hard left activist in the 1960s and part of Black Panther leader Huey Newton’s inner circle. Then, … Continue reading “David Horowitz’s Insight About the Academic Left”
An Innovative Guide Through the Higher Ed Landscape Oct 9, 2017
Increasingly, the old model of earning a college degree by simply choosing a school, paying cash to cover room, board, and tuition, and graduating within four years (with summers off) is passé. Currently, the average student takes six years to finish college and has about $37,000 in student loan debt. Higher education’s escalating costs and … Continue reading “An Innovative Guide Through the Higher Ed Landscape”
Classroom Diversity and Its Mentality of Taboo Sep 29, 2017
Anyone who applies for an executive or upper management position at a university these days must demonstrate a “strong commitment to diversity.” That’s because diversity, according to campus dogma, provides real educational benefits. Counting and mingling students and professors by race, ethnicity or gender is supposed to broaden perspectives and enhance classroom learning. That might … Continue reading “Classroom Diversity and Its Mentality of Taboo”

My State Struggles With the Perils of Legislating Higher Education Reform Oct 20, 2017
Universities have by and large rendered themselves unable to be policed—sometimes quite literally—and that has not gone unnoticed by the legislators who fund them. Wisconsin’s Campus Free Speech Act is just the latest attempt by states to impose some order on institutions by compelling their colleges and universities to take free speech seriously. Thus far, … Continue reading “My State Struggles With the Perils of Legislating Higher Education Reform”
Should All University Property Be Tax-Exempt? Oct 16, 2017
Connecticut legislators made headlines last year when they introduced a bill to tax revenue-generating college and university property. The bill was crafted to help New Haven, where Yale University is located, remain solvent. The bill specifies that any commercial property that is owned and operated by a university and that generates more than $6,000 in … Continue reading “Should All University Property Be Tax-Exempt?”
Faculty Hiring Needs Proper Checks and Balances Oct 13, 2017
Editor’s note: This is the second part of an essay on how to restore ideological balance in universities without affirmative action for conservative scholars. The first part can be found here. The ideological imbalance of American university faculties is not new. Whether one looks at faculty voter registrations, publications, course syllabi reading lists, or merely … Continue reading “Faculty Hiring Needs Proper Checks and Balances”

My State Struggles With the Perils of Legislating Higher Education Reform Oct 20, 2017
Universities have by and large rendered themselves unable to be policed—sometimes quite literally—and that has not gone unnoticed by the legislators who fund them. Wisconsin’s Campus Free Speech Act is just the latest attempt by states to impose some order on institutions by compelling their colleges and universities to take free speech seriously. Thus far, … Continue reading “My State Struggles With the Perils of Legislating Higher Education Reform”
David Horowitz’s Insight About the Academic Left Oct 18, 2017
For a few years in the mid-2000s, David Horowitz was one of the most prominent figures on the campus scene. He didn’t have a PhD and he didn’t belong to any discipline or department. He was, instead, a hard left activist in the 1960s and part of Black Panther leader Huey Newton’s inner circle. Then, … Continue reading “David Horowitz’s Insight About the Academic Left”
Faculty Hiring Needs Proper Checks and Balances Oct 13, 2017
Editor’s note: This is the second part of an essay on how to restore ideological balance in universities without affirmative action for conservative scholars. The first part can be found here. The ideological imbalance of American university faculties is not new. Whether one looks at faculty voter registrations, publications, course syllabi reading lists, or merely … Continue reading “Faculty Hiring Needs Proper Checks and Balances”

NC State Hoops Players’ Palatial New Digs Send the Wrong Message Oct 23, 2017
Athletes need a good night’s sleep to maximize their performance. But that doesn’t explain why NC State’s proposed new dormitory for basketball players will cost roughly four times as much per bed than other campus living quarters do. It seems pretty clear that the dormitory is due to NC State’s participation in the ever-escalating arms … Continue reading “NC State Hoops Players’ Palatial New Digs Send the Wrong Message”
My State Struggles With the Perils of Legislating Higher Education Reform Oct 20, 2017
Universities have by and large rendered themselves unable to be policed—sometimes quite literally—and that has not gone unnoticed by the legislators who fund them. Wisconsin’s Campus Free Speech Act is just the latest attempt by states to impose some order on institutions by compelling their colleges and universities to take free speech seriously. Thus far, … Continue reading “My State Struggles With the Perils of Legislating Higher Education Reform”
David Horowitz’s Insight About the Academic Left Oct 18, 2017
For a few years in the mid-2000s, David Horowitz was one of the most prominent figures on the campus scene. He didn’t have a PhD and he didn’t belong to any discipline or department. He was, instead, a hard left activist in the 1960s and part of Black Panther leader Huey Newton’s inner circle. Then, … Continue reading “David Horowitz’s Insight About the Academic Left”