Fixing a Liberal Arts Education Requires a Standardized Curriculum

Jan 25, 2019 · · No Comments on Fixing a Liberal Arts Education Requires a Standardized Curriculum

In higher education, the value of a liberal arts education has been frequently debated. Defenders on the left argue that it exposes students to coursework and teaches critical thinking skills they would otherwise miss. Critics on the right, however, have argued that the liberal arts can be a vehicle for leftist indoctrination and provide minimal … Continue reading “Fixing a Liberal Arts Education Requires a Standardized Curriculum”

The Liberal Arts Are Important: But Whose Liberal Arts?

Oct 22, 2018 · · No Comments on The Liberal Arts Are Important: But Whose Liberal Arts?

Over the decades, the conception of a liberal arts education appears to have slowly lost its meaning. Just because students may attend a “liberal arts” college does not mean that they will receive a liberal arts education as it was traditionally conceived. One person who decries this transformation of the liberal arts is author and … Continue reading “The Liberal Arts Are Important: But Whose Liberal Arts?”

Faculty in Denial about Own Role in Decline of Humanities

Jun 20, 2018 · · No Comments on Faculty in Denial about Own Role in Decline of Humanities

If you want to see one example of why a new populism has emerged in American universities in the last 10 years, take a look at a statement issued last week by the Association of University Professors and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The incapacity of the experts and professionals who wrote the … Continue reading “Faculty in Denial about Own Role in Decline of Humanities”

At This New College, Yes to Latin and Hiking but No to Cellphones and Federal Aid

Jun 8, 2018 · · No Comments on At This New College, Yes to Latin and Hiking but No to Cellphones and Federal Aid

This spring, graduates throughout America will exit their institutions with diplomas that signify little about real learning. But Wyoming Catholic College, my institution, is immune to this disconnect. When 31 students graduated from Wyoming Catholic on May 12th, they held a weighty diploma. Why? Because the college’s core curriculum has sacrificed neither great books nor—and … Continue reading “At This New College, Yes to Latin and Hiking but No to Cellphones and Federal Aid”

Why College Graduates Still Can’t Think

Mar 23, 2017 · · 185 Comments on Why College Graduates Still Can’t Think

More than six years have passed since Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa rocked the academic world with their landmark book, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Their study of more than 2,300 undergraduates at colleges and universities across the country found that many of those students improved little, if at all, in key areas—especially critical … Continue reading “Why College Graduates Still Can’t Think”

What’s Wrong with Our Journalism Departments?

Jan 11, 2017 · · 17 Comments on What’s Wrong with Our Journalism Departments?

Honest reporters and editors have asked a hard question since Election Day: How could we have been so staggeringly wrong about so much in 2016? On December 8, Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, offered one possible answer in the form of a confession: “We don’t get religion. We don’t get the … Continue reading “What’s Wrong with Our Journalism Departments?”