Politicization

Higher education’s fundamental mission is the discovery, preservation, and transmission of truth. This endeavor requires unfettered freedom of expression and conscience. The following articles expose illiberal tendencies on American campuses and highlight ways to increase the diversity of the ideas being taught, debated, and discussed on campus.

The Campus Sustainability Movement: A Threat to the Marketplace of Ideas

Jan 25, 2016 ·

An especially pernicious brand of environmentalism—”sustainability”—is on the verge of becoming an unstated, but very real, part of North Carolina State University’s mission. University leaders are developing an aggressive public relations campaign and curriculum change that could create a system in which students are inculcated in social justice, environmental justice, and progressivism—all of which are tenets of sustainability. Left unchecked, this seemingly harmless movement (which has a strong presence at other North Carolina universities, too) could sow the seeds of social upheaval by turning hearts and minds away from the principles of a free society.

The New Creationists

Jan 22, 2016 ·

As a liberal who grew up near California’s Bible Belt in Orange County, I was brought up to believe that the enemies of reason were the Christian creationists who taught that the world is 6,000 years old and that biologists can’t explain the evolution of complexity without invoking a divine creator. While I still believe creationists are wrong, I have come to see their progressive academic counterparts as a bigger problem. I’ll call them the New Creationists. They use Darwin as a bludgeon against the old creationists, but then reject scientific conclusions when they conflict with their political convictions.

American Colleges Are Forgetting to Teach Citizenship

Jan 20, 2016 ·

We have come to ignore what has always been understood as a primary goal of education: the formation of reflective and responsible citizens. We are paying the price for that neglect today. All too many Americans, even nominally well-educated ones, do not understand their own political and economic systems, and are appallingly ignorant of the American past. They are bereft of any sense of love for, or profound connection to, their own nation and its traditions. Needless to say, such citizens will have neither the intelligence nor the heart to meet the rigorous challenges of a very demanding future. We will have to do better, and start doing so very soon, if we are to maintain a republican form of government.

Ed School Students Must Become Social Justice Warriors to Gain Licensure

Jan 13, 2016 ·

According to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro catalog, the course “ELC 381, The Institution of Education” is “required of students seeking student licensure.” Unfortunately, the course often goes far beyond what is politically acceptable for an education course at a public university. When one looks at the section of ELC 381 taught by Revital Zilonka in the Spring of 2016, it becomes clear that the degree of politicization completely violates the spirit of free inquiry that is supposed to govern our schools.

A Million Dollars More? Only for Some

Jan 11, 2016 ·

We’ve all heard the refrain: “college graduates make a million dollars more in their lifetimes than high school graduates.” The “college premium,” as it is called, is used to justify a wide variety of personal and policy decisions. But the real college premium is an exceedingly complex concept that cannot be captured by a single number. As Margaret Spellings takes the leadership role in the University of North Carolina system, let us hope that she does not fall for the simplistic rhetoric concerning the benefits of college attendance that has led her predecessors to push for expanded enrollment—and that she has at times fallen for as well.

A Nearsighted Visionary

Jan 8, 2016 ·

Rarely have I read a book about higher education that is so varied as Michael Roth’s Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters. As I’ll explain, it is by turns intriguing, annoying, and challenging.

Finally, a Sober Appraisal of North Carolina’s Public Universities

Jan 4, 2016 ·

The Pope Center’s latest report, The State of the State University 2015: Critical Facts about the University of North Carolina System, is a must-read for students, parents, taxpayers, and policymakers who want the UNC system to achieve its highest potential—and its peak efficiency. Here’s hoping that, in 2016, North Carolina leaders, instead of sugarcoating the shortcomings identified in this report, choose instead to address them head on.

The Attempted Intimidation of Margaret Spellings

Dec 31, 2015 ·

Even before she assumes control of the University of North Carolina system, former Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has become a lightening rod for attacks by faculty, students, and activists on the left. It is an attempt to intimidate her into acquiescence to the leftist faculty’s agenda.

What a Year! Ten Trends in Higher Ed in 2015

Dec 30, 2015 ·

Looking back at all that happened in higher education this year is enough to make your head spin. One minute, state politicians are finally making good policies; the next, university officials are caving to irrational demands. At the other end of the spectrum, politicians are promoting policies of monumental stupidity, while the courts are making surprisingly good decisions (but not always). A majority of students favor putting extreme limits for political correctness on free speech, while an opposition is coalescing around protecting the First Amendment and due legal processes. And on and on it goes. To try to capture the spirit of 2015, the Pope Center staff identified ten of the year’s major trends and events.

Faculty Salaries Reflect Reality, Not Politics

Dec 28, 2015 ·

The absence of a state-mandated across-the-board salary increase does not mean that UNC system faculty members are not receiving increases. There are quite a few programs and procedures for raising faculty wages. One thing that may be angering the more strident faculty voices is that many of the means for raising salaries are merit-based rather than automatic.