Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance

Jan 14, 2021 · · No Comments on Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance

Dr. Donald Downs, Alexander Meiklejohn Professor of Political Science Emeritus and affiliate professor of law and journalism emeritus at the University of Wisconsin‐​Madison, will discuss his latest book, Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance, on January 14 from 12PM – 1:30PM. Register for the Zoom webinar here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C2LCdHJeTSKoqsPpL6zpIA Dr. … Continue reading “Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance”

The Ways in Which Colleges Legally Silence Troublesome Scholars

Jan 6, 2021 · · No Comments on The Ways in Which Colleges Legally Silence Troublesome Scholars

Radicals on campus do more than just “cancel” speakers. Failure by administrators to stand firm alters the atmosphere at colleges as well as, eventually, our system of government. The most profound consequences may come less from ideological zealots than from our own cowardice to oppose them. Some colleges now respond to ideological intimidation not by … Continue reading “The Ways in Which Colleges Legally Silence Troublesome Scholars”

‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments

Nov 23, 2020 · · No Comments on ‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments

Inevitably, college music departments have succumbed to pressure to promote “social justice” and fight racism. It’s hard to see much injustice or racism in music, but that doesn’t matter to activists intent on showing that they’re in the vanguard of America’s transformation. Consider, for example, the announcement back in September by the music department at … Continue reading “‘Wokeness’ Infiltrates College Music Departments”

Did You Know? Elite Colleges Fail to Report $6.5 Billion in Foreign Donations

Oct 29, 2020 · · No Comments on Did You Know? Elite Colleges Fail to Report $6.5 Billion in Foreign Donations

Elite colleges are quick to take foreign donations, but slow to inform the federal government. A recent report from the Department of Education found $6.5 billion in foreign donations that colleges had failed to self-report before the Department raised the issue. “Since 2000, the higher education industry has increased its entanglement with foreign adversaries, leading … Continue reading “Did You Know? Elite Colleges Fail to Report $6.5 Billion in Foreign Donations”

We Need to Talk About Bruce

Oct 7, 2020 · · No Comments on We Need to Talk About Bruce

Nowhere is “cancel culture” more deeply entrenched than in academia; it was commonplace there long before the actual phrase was coined to describe the current social media phenomenon. The gears of academia keep grinding away dissenting opinions, despite occasional paeans offered in the name of academic freedom. Those who propose uniquely original ideas can face … Continue reading “We Need to Talk About Bruce”

Did You Know? Two British Reforms America Should Copy

Aug 20, 2020 · · No Comments on Did You Know? Two British Reforms America Should Copy

Two recent British policy briefs on academic freedom and university reforms provide some broad suggestions applicable to colleges, British or otherwise. Policy Exchange, a center-right think tank, published “Academic Freedom in the UK: Protecting viewpoint diversity,” which highlights the disappearance of the conservative professor on campus. CIEO, a left-of-center think tank, published “Saving Britain’s Universities: … Continue reading “Did You Know? Two British Reforms America Should Copy”

Universities Appease China, Ignore Human Rights Abuses

Aug 5, 2020 · · No Comments on Universities Appease China, Ignore Human Rights Abuses

Long the vanguard of liberal change, the American university now leads the appeasement of a hardened authoritarian China. The interest in promoting a broader community of scholars has given way to a toxic combination of business interests, the inability of college leaders to recognize their failure in influencing Chinese education, and their unwillingness to see … Continue reading “Universities Appease China, Ignore Human Rights Abuses”

UCLA’s Discrimination Office Targeting Professor Threatens Academic Freedom

Jul 31, 2020 · · No Comments on UCLA’s Discrimination Office Targeting Professor Threatens Academic Freedom

When a political science lecturer at UCLA read to his class Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and showed clips from a documentary on racism, he found himself in hot water. The reason: Both the letter and the documentary included the N-word. Many students complained, which in turn pitted UCLA against the … Continue reading “UCLA’s Discrimination Office Targeting Professor Threatens Academic Freedom”

Misusing Editorial Power to Censor Unpopular Research

Jul 22, 2020 · · No Comments on Misusing Editorial Power to Censor Unpopular Research

Academic freedom is under assault by people who want to control research and speech. One of their strategies exploits the gatekeeping functions of journal editors to censor unpopular ideas. The leading open-access journal in the field of intelligence research, the Journal of Intelligence, has a policy listed on its website since 2018 that states, “The … Continue reading “Misusing Editorial Power to Censor Unpopular Research”

‘Witches’ and ‘Viruses:’ The Activist-Academic Threat and a Policy Response

Jun 17, 2020 · and · Comments Off on ‘Witches’ and ‘Viruses:’ The Activist-Academic Threat and a Policy Response

How much of academia is infiltrated by activists? Some conservatives claim that “neo-Marxism” and its sister paradigms like feminist pedagogy, post-structuralism, and post-modernism have long infected certain departments in the humanities and social sciences. Those paradigms have now spread to more disciplines and funding committees. However, conservatives have been slow to explain how activist departments … Continue reading “‘Witches’ and ‘Viruses:’ The Activist-Academic Threat and a Policy Response”