UNC’s 1619 Project Hire: A Case Study of Failed University Governance

May 10, 2021 · · Comments Off on UNC’s 1619 Project Hire: A Case Study of Failed University Governance

The recent hiring of New York Times columnist Nikole Hannah-Jones as a faculty member in UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism raises serious red flags about how the university is being run. Last week, the Martin Center’s Jay Schalin reported on Hannah-Jones’s appointment to the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at UNC. Hannah-Jones … Continue reading “UNC’s 1619 Project Hire: A Case Study of Failed University Governance”

Perpetual Scandal-Mongering as a Political Tool

Apr 26, 2021 · · Comments Off on Perpetual Scandal-Mongering as a Political Tool

Members of the media and faculty erupted into histrionics at the recent appointment of Darrell Allison to the chancellorship of Fayetteville State University. It is a great scandal, they claimed; Allison “cut in line” cried the left-wing think tank NC Policy Watch; the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and FSU faculty senate questioned not … Continue reading “Perpetual Scandal-Mongering as a Political Tool”

1776 Unites: An Alternative to Campus Victimhood Culture

Mar 12, 2021 · · Comments Off on 1776 Unites: An Alternative to Campus Victimhood Culture

Over the past decade, American moral culture has changed. The evidence of those changes has been especially apparent on college campuses, where new concepts such as microaggressions, safe spaces, trigger warnings, and bias response teams were first tested. But this new “victimhood culture” is devastating to its adherents, disempowering them and dooming them to disappointment. … Continue reading “1776 Unites: An Alternative to Campus Victimhood Culture”

Speaking Out Against Censorship in Academia

Dec 2, 2020 · · Comments Off on Speaking Out Against Censorship in Academia

As academia becomes ever-more entrenched in groupthink, it can be intimidating to be a lone voice that refuses to toe the ideological line. And for good reason: failure to at least appear to agree with the ideological consensus on campus can result in a number of professional—and personal—consequences. But those potential consequences haven’t deterred one … Continue reading “Speaking Out Against Censorship in Academia”

Bolstering the Board: Trustees Are Academia’s Best Hope for Reform

Jul 14, 2020 · · Comments Off on Bolstering the Board: Trustees Are Academia’s Best Hope for Reform

From the Executive Summary of Bolstering the Board: Trustees Are Academia’s Best Hope for Reform: Two conditions are needed to effect large-scale reforms in academia: a hierarchical, top- down system of governance that can enact sweeping changes, and for that system to be controlled or heavily influenced by those outside the system. Strong board governance … Continue reading “Bolstering the Board: Trustees Are Academia’s Best Hope for Reform”

The Breakdown of American Education and the Hopes for Change

Jul 8, 2020 · · Comments Off on The Breakdown of American Education and the Hopes for Change

America’s system of education has failed in one of its most important goals: forming future generations of American citizens. This is particularly true in higher education, where students are encouraged to become “global citizens” instead of Americans. At many of our institutions of higher learning, character education has been replaced by moral relativism at the … Continue reading “The Breakdown of American Education and the Hopes for Change”

Blinding Themselves: The Cost of Groupthink in Social Psychology

Nov 1, 2019 · · Comments Off on Blinding Themselves: The Cost of Groupthink in Social Psychology

The social sciences have a problem: If their scholars think too much alike, they will be blinded to the flaws and gaps in their research. Rather than explaining how individuals in society act and think, academics can sometimes slip blinders on themselves and the public. Polling shows broad agreement within some disciplines. For instance, recent … Continue reading “Blinding Themselves: The Cost of Groupthink in Social Psychology”

What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology

Sep 20, 2019 · · Comments Off on What We’re Reading: Western Culture, Groupthink, and Queer Criminology

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”

Tribal Politics Is Turning Us Against Each Other—and Science

May 10, 2017 · · Comments Off on Tribal Politics Is Turning Us Against Each Other—and Science

If you’ve spent much time on a college campus you’ve probably heard the claim that conservatives are anti-science. If you’re a liberal who doesn’t interact with many conservatives, you might have believed it. If you’re conservative, you probably felt frustrated and misrepresented. This view of conservatives as anti-science has been broadcast beyond the college campus. … Continue reading “Tribal Politics Is Turning Us Against Each Other—and Science”