To the editor: A recent essay in the JMC (“A Better Way to Teach Law,” 17 August), generated much constructive, professional feedback. There is one correspondent who brought up an important point that provides an opportunity to further clarify my argument, if I may, and for that I thank the JMC Letter writer (“Engineering education … Continue reading “Author’s response to recent Letter to the Editor”
Soon, high school graduates will be making monumental decisions that will determine their future quality of life. These decisions include whether to attend college; if so, where; and finally, what degree program to pursue. Research shows that while not guaranteeing career success, a college degree often affords students more control over their destiny and enables a … Continue reading “Reducing Student Cost and Enhancing the Value of College Education”
The Supreme Court may ban affirmative action, but even if it does, many race, sex, and ideology-conscious “diversity” policies and programs will still remain on college campuses. Regardless of the Court’s decision, state legislators have an important role to play in striking down discriminatory practices in public higher education. Idaho is emblematic of how a … Continue reading “States Must Go Beyond Affirmative Action Bans to Stop Discriminatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on College Campuses”
Preston Cooper, a researcher at The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity studying the economics of higher education, recently published a wide-ranging analysis of almost 14,000 U.S. graduate degree programs. In his investigation―which used a similar methodology to a related study he conducted on the value of undergraduate degrees―Cooper calculated the return on investment (ROI) … Continue reading “The Numbers Are in: Are Graduate Degree Programs Worth It?”
Contrary to popular belief, the wars of tomorrow won’t be fought in the trenches. They’ll be fought in labs and lecture halls around the world. Powerful minds, rather than powerful machines, will prevail. And if powerful machines are to prevail, then powerful minds will be required to create such machines. China, the United States’ biggest … Continue reading “Could the Game of Chess Help Create Smarter STEM Students?”
While American higher education often is rightly condemned for being inefficient, non-innovative, and resistant to change, there are exceptions, and there are some collegiate entrepreneurs whose success is worthy of commendation and emulation. To me, the top award for American higher education innovation must go to Mitch Daniels, who is just beginning his tenth year … Continue reading “The Very Model of a Modern University President”
Holden Thorp is a very clever fellow. With a PhD in chemistry from Caltech and after some business ventures and a spell teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he ascended to the chancellorship of the university in 2007 at the young age of 43. He resigned in 2013 amid allegations of … Continue reading “Science Needs Honesty, Not Affirmative Action”
Veritas. Lux et veritas. Veritas vos liberabit. Truth. Light and truth. Truth will set you free. These are the official mottos for Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins. They reflect a conception of the university in which the dissemination and discovery of truth is the school’s main purpose. In the past, these institutions largely lived up … Continue reading “The Post-Truth Classroom”
As if landing a college teaching position wasn’t already difficult enough, the powers-that-be have placed another obstacle in job-seekers’ path: the so-called “Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” better known as the “diversity statement” or “DEI statement.” Many (most?) institutions now require such a document as part of the application packet along with the traditional … Continue reading “The Toxic Absurdity of “Diversity Statements” “
The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and … Continue reading “Restoring Merit to Higher Education: An Entrepreneurial Approach”