Leftist Archives — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

How the College Board Mangles the Teaching of History

Feb 19, 2021 · George Leef · Comments Off

The College Board is a not-for-profit company that has a great deal of influence over American education. Its Scholastic Aptitude Test (the SAT) is the most widely used test for assessing the college readiness of students, and its many Advanced Placement exams allow students to show that they have learned subjects well enough not to … Continue reading “How the College Board Mangles the Teaching of History”

College Faculties Are Mostly Leftist and Becoming More So

Nov 11, 2016 · George Leef · Comments Off

A paper recently published in Econ Journal Watch, “Faculty Voter Registration in Economics, History, Journalism, Law, and Psychology,” shows that something almost everyone believes to be true—that college faculties in the social sciences are predominantly left of center—is in fact true. More than that, however it shows that this is more true in some fields and … Continue reading “College Faculties Are Mostly Leftist and Becoming More So”

Tenure’s False Promise Jun 29, 2022
Although tenure has been hotly debated over the years, it is still widely misunderstood as guaranteeing a professor a lifetime position. What happened in May to Joshua Katz, a classics professor at Princeton, calls into question this assumption and, by extension, raises a question about the rights of an individual in our legal system. Katz’s … Continue reading “Tenure’s False Promise”
Did You Know? New College to Launch in Wake Forest This Fall Jun 23, 2022
Thales College, a new undergraduate institution launching this fall in Wake Forest, N.C., is eagerly preparing to open its doors to its inaugural class. Thales College is a unique institution with a fresh vision for higher ed: rigorous academics and effective professional preparation joined with a commitment to affordability not often found among other higher … Continue reading “Did You Know? New College to Launch in Wake Forest This Fall”
The Limits of Expertise Jun 22, 2022
As a professor devoted to his college’s “pre-disciplinary” core curriculum, I was hooked by David Epstein’s title, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. The book is chock-full of anecdotes and evidence that people with breadth or range—indeed, amateurs in the true sense of the word—can contribute immensely to enterprises in environments that seem, … Continue reading “The Limits of Expertise”

In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse Jun 27, 2022
Presidents of prestigious universities often make outrageous decisions inconsistent with such bedrock values as freedom of expression and providing the accused with traditional American due process. The shameful manner in which Princeton University fired Joshua Katz, a distinguished scholar and winner of several teaching awards, leads me to consider Christopher Eisgruber to be the worst … Continue reading “In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse”
Remembering Title IX Abuses Jun 24, 2022
Recently, Title IX has been in the news because of the Biden administration’s promised (and, as of yesterday, delivered) rejection of much-needed Trump-era reforms. As we are approaching the 50th anniversary of the statute, introduced as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, it is worth revisiting the history of Title IX and reviewing its … Continue reading “Remembering Title IX Abuses”
Birds of Paradise: The Moral Poverty of Faculty Freedom Fighters Jun 17, 2022
Carl Dobsky’s brilliant, fiery painting “Birds of Paradise” has been the focus of attention at his recent exhibitions, because it accurately and effectively captures the zeitgeist of contemporary American life. The painting is set in the backyard of a bourgeois Los Angeles home, where a laughing group of partying Angelinos drink red wine from large … Continue reading “Birds of Paradise: The Moral Poverty of Faculty Freedom Fighters”

Tenure’s False Promise Jun 29, 2022
Although tenure has been hotly debated over the years, it is still widely misunderstood as guaranteeing a professor a lifetime position. What happened in May to Joshua Katz, a classics professor at Princeton, calls into question this assumption and, by extension, raises a question about the rights of an individual in our legal system. Katz’s … Continue reading “Tenure’s False Promise”
In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse Jun 27, 2022
Presidents of prestigious universities often make outrageous decisions inconsistent with such bedrock values as freedom of expression and providing the accused with traditional American due process. The shameful manner in which Princeton University fired Joshua Katz, a distinguished scholar and winner of several teaching awards, leads me to consider Christopher Eisgruber to be the worst … Continue reading “In Princeton’s Contempt for Justice, Shades of Duke Lacrosse”
Remembering Title IX Abuses Jun 24, 2022
Recently, Title IX has been in the news because of the Biden administration’s promised (and, as of yesterday, delivered) rejection of much-needed Trump-era reforms. As we are approaching the 50th anniversary of the statute, introduced as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, it is worth revisiting the history of Title IX and reviewing its … Continue reading “Remembering Title IX Abuses”