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 · · No Comments 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 At many of our institutions of higher learning, character education has been replaced by moral relativism at the … Continue reading “The Breakdown of American Education and the Hopes for Change”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 · · No Comments 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 · · No Comments 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 · · 12 Comments 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”