Topic: Academics

Keeping Journalists in the Dark: ‘Citation Cartels’ Limit Public Knowledge

May 17, 2019 · · No Comments on Keeping Journalists in the Dark: ‘Citation Cartels’ Limit Public Knowledge

The public relies on journalists to learn about and share academic research. Public knowledge can be undermined, however, when academics try to influence what research journalists cover or limit the “acceptable debate” about an issue. This influence can be achieved through “citation cartels,” where sympathetic researchers cite and reference one another and ignore or dismiss … Continue reading “Keeping Journalists in the Dark: ‘Citation Cartels’ Limit Public Knowledge”

From Indoctrination to Education: Salvaging the University

May 10, 2019 · and · No Comments on From Indoctrination to Education: Salvaging the University

Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from Coming Home: Reclaiming America’s Conservative Soul (ISBN: 9781641770569), to be published by Encounter Books on May 14. The promise of higher education has become a trap for tens of millions of Americans. The promise: Every one of us and our children could go to college, earn a … Continue reading “From Indoctrination to Education: Salvaging the University”

Administrative Hardball at the University of Tulsa       

May 8, 2019 · · No Comments on Administrative Hardball at the University of Tulsa       

On April 11, the administration of the University of Tulsa shocked faculty, students, and alumni by announcing the elimination of 40 percent of the school’s academic programs. Undergraduate and graduate programs in theater, musical theater, dance, vocal and instrumental music, English, history, philosophy, religion, chemistry, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Greek, Latin, anthropology, mathematics, and many … Continue reading “Administrative Hardball at the University of Tulsa       “

Political Science Needs Intellectual Diversity, But Few Realize It

May 6, 2019 · · No Comments on Political Science Needs Intellectual Diversity, But Few Realize It

Political science is the study of homo politicus, what Plato considered the most quintessential of human behaviors. Over the centuries, it has generated a library of observations, theories, and findings about the way we think and act. The work has forged a broad consensus in many of the discipline’s realms of inquiry. Yet, although academic … Continue reading “Political Science Needs Intellectual Diversity, But Few Realize It”

A Lame Case for Diversity

May 3, 2019 · · No Comments on A Lame Case for Diversity

Abigail Stewart and Virginia Valian are senior psychologists at the University of Michigan and Hunter College, respectively. As an opponent of group preferences and double standards to achieve diversity among university faculty, I read their book, An Inclusive Academy, hoping to learn something from people with whom I disagreed. This study confirms the tenacity of … Continue reading “A Lame Case for Diversity”

College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution

May 1, 2019 · · No Comments on College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution

Freshman composition occupies a unique position in a college curriculum. It is the only class required of about 90 percent of enrollees whose diverse aptitudes and prior writing experience present a challenge for instructors every semester. In Why They Can’t Write, instructor John Warner of the College of Charleston proposes a course he says will … Continue reading “College Writing Courses Are in Trouble, But This Isn’t the Solution”

The Challenges That the UNC System’s Top Teachers See for the Future

Apr 29, 2019 · · No Comments on The Challenges That the UNC System’s Top Teachers See for the Future

Good teaching is vital for college students to learn, but the work demands on professors and what type of work is actually rewarded means that teaching can be of secondary importance. To keep teaching quality high, the University of North Carolina system tries to recognize great teaching. For 25 years, the UNC system has given … Continue reading “The Challenges That the UNC System’s Top Teachers See for the Future”

A Tale of Two CTEs: Kentucky’s Strengths and Missouri’s Weaknesses in Career Training

Apr 26, 2019 · · No Comments on A Tale of Two CTEs: Kentucky’s Strengths and Missouri’s Weaknesses in Career Training

When students graduate high school, they know about the benefits of a college degree but not career training. Students who get some career and technical education (CTE) in high school can develop job skills and prepare for their future career without a college degree. How states design their CTE programs, however, determines how useful this … Continue reading “A Tale of Two CTEs: Kentucky’s Strengths and Missouri’s Weaknesses in Career Training”

Caveat Magister: Even Medical Professors Must Not Say Politically Incorrect Things

Apr 24, 2019 · · No Comments on Caveat Magister: Even Medical Professors Must Not Say Politically Incorrect Things

How far has the United States gone down the road of punishing people for uttering politically incorrect thoughts? Very far indeed, as an incident at the University of Louisville shows. Yes, we know that faculty in the “soft” fields of the social sciences endanger their careers if they happen to say something that upsets someone … Continue reading “Caveat Magister: Even Medical Professors Must Not Say Politically Incorrect Things”

The End of Being a Duke Professor and What It Means for the Future of Higher Education

Apr 22, 2019 · · No Comments on The End of Being a Duke Professor and What It Means for the Future of Higher Education

The end of the spring semester marks the 20th anniversary of my professorship at Duke, first as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor of the practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy. During this time, I regularly taught the required ethics class for all undergraduate public policy majors. I won multiple … Continue reading “The End of Being a Duke Professor and What It Means for the Future of Higher Education”