Exploring, challenging, and developing classical liberal ideas and advancing the core values of higher education
Below are articles, opinions, and news items on events and ideas affecting the academy, public discourse, or classical liberalism. We don’t always agree with the thoughts put forth in these articles, nor do we do endorse any third-party site or outlet we link to, but we do see value in bringing them to your attention as a way to start or further the discussion they pertain to.
From time to time we will post links to our own ideas and thoughts regarding a subject. When we do, we will make every effort to allow for comments and feedback.
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April 8, 2021
When Will Liberals Reclaim Free Speech?
Wall Street Journal
April 6, 2021
A Competitive Year for Grad Students
Inside Higher Ed
What Employers Want
Inside Higher Ed
April 2, 2021
Social and Political Trust
Discourse Magazine
Is Economics a Liberal Art?
National Review
April 1, 2021
The MAD turn in our cancel culture battles
Washington Post
March 29, 2021
Fighting Back, At Last
Persuasion
March 26, 2021
End the Fed’s Mission Creep
Wall Street Journal
At Odds With Her University Over Gender Identity
Inside Higher Ed
The Social Justice Purge at Idaho Colleges
New York Times
March 22, 2021
Cancel Culture; Academic Freedom; and Bullies
Chronicle of Higher Education
Is ‘cancel culture’ real on Florida college campuses?
Tampa Bay Times
March 16, 2021
America Doesn’t Need More Stimulus
Wall Street Journal
Tenure’s Broken Promise
Chronicle of Higher Education
March 12, 2021
Campus speech rules are hurting students. They deserve recompense — even if it’s just $1.
Washington Post
Speaking the Truth
Persuasion
What Higher Education Has Endured for the Past Year
Chronicle of Higher Education
Why university rankings must include academic freedom
University World News
March 10, 2021
Seminar Promotes Discussion of Toleration in Free Society
Samford University
More Defenders of Campus Speech
Wall Street Journal
How to Put Out Democracy’s Dumpster Fire
The Atlantic
March 9, 2021
Supreme Court Sides With Students in Speech Zone Case
Inside Higher Ed
March 8, 2021
A New Group Promises to Protect Professors’ Free Speech
Chronicle of Higher Education
March 4, 2021
Students Disengage From Controversy
Inside Higher Ed
March 2, 2021
7 Ways Colleges Can Help Support Students in Speaking Up
Inside Higher Ed
March 1, 2021
Academic Freedom Is Withering
Wall Street Journal
February 26, 2021
Fired for Tweeting? A Professor Says She Was Cut Loose in Retaliation
Chronicle of Higher Education
Campus Speech Orgs.: Tenn. College Athletes Have Right to Kneel
Inside Higher Ed
February 25, 2021
Higher Ed’s Misguided Purging of Trump Supporters
Chronicle of Higher Education
Inside a Battle Over Race, Class and Power at Smith College
New York Times
February 23, 2021
Cornel West: ‘My Ridiculous Situation at Harvard’
Chronicle of Higher Education
February 22, 2021
Who’s Responsible for a Ph.D. Student’s Success?
Chronicle of Higher Education
Arguments for and Against Capitalism in Black Intellectual Tradition
Heterodox Academy
February 19, 2021
Opening the Floor
Inside Higher Ed
Heating Up Culture Wars, France to Scour Universities for Ideas That ‘Corrupt Society’
New York Times
Could Fall Bring Some Return to Normalcy? These Colleges Say Yes
Chronicle of Higher Education
February 18, 2021
The Shrinking of the Scholarly Ranks
Chronicle of Higher Education
February 17, 2021
Reports of Free Speech Violations Spiked During Pandemic
Inside Higher Ed
Canceled? Welcome to Our World
Persuasion
February 15, 2021
Bill To Ban Tenure ‘A Live Round’ In Iowa House, Advances In Both Chambers
Iowa Public Radio
Why Do We Always Think We’re Right?
Persuasion
February 12, 2021
Professor discusses his book on a “conservative case for liberal education.”
Inside Higher Ed
‘Let’s Be Reasonable’ Review: How to Elevate Higher Learning
Wall Street Journal
February 10, 2021
Can Free Speech Survive the Internet?
Persuasion
February 9, 2021
Colleges Vowed a Safer Spring. Then Students, and Variants, Arrived.
New York Times
A Forgotten Black Founding Father
The Atlantic
February 5, 2021
A Messy Debate on Academic Freedom
Inside Higher Ed
February 3, 2021
Bernie Sanders is often called a liberal. He’d beg to differ. Who is actually a liberal?
Washington Post
Social Justice, Austerity, and the Humanities Death Spiral
Chronicle of Higher Education
February 1, 2021
COVID-19’s Impact on Academic Research
Inside Higher Ed
Are Graduate Programs Pressing Pause — or Pulling the Plug?
Chronicle of Higher Education
January 29, 2021
Fired for Criticizing a Reopening Plan?
Inside Higher Ed
January 27, 2021
How Economics Lost Itself in Data
Wall Street Journal
The Great Free-Speech Reversal
The Atlantic
Learning to Listen in Polarized Times
Inside Higher Ed
January 26, 2021
Learning to Listen in Polarized Times
Inside Higher Ed
January 25, 2021
University forces professors back into the classroom despite covid-19, but students get to choose
Washington Post
Some Colleges Revamped the Academic Calendar in Response to the Pandemic. Here’s What They Learned.
Chronicle of Higher Education
January 22, 2021
Political peace starts with everyday interactions
The Hill
The four kinds of truth America needs to pursue reconciliation
Washington Post
What Zoom Does to Campus Conflicts Over Israel and Free Speech
New York Times
January 19, 2021
Peaceful transition of power is a cornerstone of liberal democracy
Orange County Register
January 16, 2021
The importance of not having a center: Polycentricity saves American democracy
Detroit Free Press
January 13, 2021
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Speech Zone Case
Inside Higher Ed
Higher ed can help repair the fractures in our democracy. Really, it can.
Chronicle of Higher Education
January 8, 2021
A Failure to Educate
Inside Higher Ed
January 7, 2021
Why we need the arts and humanities to get us through the COVID-19 pandemic
USA Today
Higher Ed Reacts With Shock and Condemnation as Trump Incites Mob to Terrorize U.S. Capitol
Chronicle of Higher Education
January 5, 2021
As Covid-19 Surges, Colleges Make Last-Minute Changes to Spring Calendars
Wall Street Journal
Carpe Diem on Faculty Hiring?
Inside Higher Ed
December 31, 2020
A Year of Possibility: Words of Wisdom From 8 Scholars
Psychology Today
December 30, 2020
A Start at Bridging the Partisan Gulf
Wall Street Journal
December 28, 2020
For sake of our democracy, Americans need to rediscover the art of good conversations
USA Today
Circles of partnership, not lines of division
Washington Examiner
December 22, 2020
Soviet Politics, American Style
Wall Street Journal
The Beginning of Our Salvation
LA Review of Books
December 18, 2020
Opportunity Knocks for Liberal Education
Inside Higher Ed
December 17, 2020
Why Are Americans So Distrustful of Each Other?
Wall Street Journal
Eulogy for Dad
Creators Syndicate
That Op-Ed About Jill Biden Is Awful. Northwestern’s Response Might Be Worse.
Chronicle of Higher Education
December 16, 2020
Fight “Cancel Culture” on Campus
Persuasion
How Capitalism Is Coping in an Era of Populism
New York Times
December 10, 2020
Education Department Blasts ‘Culture of Censorship’ at Colleges, Sets Up Free-Speech Email Hotline to Report Violations
Wall Street Journal
Back to Campus
Inside Higher Ed
‘A Tremendous Amount of Fear’: Will Major Cuts Threaten Research Universities’ Work?
Chronicle of Higher Education
December 9, 2020
Calm Before the Storm
Inside Higher Ed
Higher Ed Faces a Long and Uneven Recovery, Ratings Agencies Warn
Chronicle of Higher Education
December 8, 2020
More Colleges Adopting Chicago Principles for Free Speech
Inside Higher Ed
December 7, 2020
“Shame on you!”
Persuasion
Campus ‘free speech’ bill banning free-speech zones heads to Gov. Mike DeWine
Columbus Dispatch
December 2, 2020
Walter Williams, R.I.P.
Wall Street Journal
November 30, 2020
Politics in Academia: A Case Study
Psychology Today
A brief history of human dignity
Big Think
November 25, 2020
They Tried to Cancel Me
Persuasion
How College Students Are Helping Each Other Survive
New York Times
November 20, 2020
Harvard petition demands ‘accountability’ before Trump officials are invited to campus
Washington Post
November 19, 2020
What if Instead of Calling People Out, We Called Them In?
New York Times
Faculty Pandemic Stress Is Now Chronic
Inside Higher Ed
Annual Report Analyzes Global Attacks on Academic Freedoms
Inside Higher Ed
November 17, 2020
Cutting the In-Person Semester Short
Inside Higher Ed
November 16, 2020
Free speech and college campuses: Why are students censoring themselves, and will Joe Biden help?
Chicago Tribune
Colleges Ask Professors to Return to the Classroom. Their Answer? That’s ‘Reckless.’
Chronicle of Higher Education
November 12, 2020
The Biden Presidency and International Education
Inside Higher Ed
November 11, 2020
Colleges Have Shed a Tenth of Their Employees Since the Pandemic Began
Chronicle of Higher Education
Presidents Were Never Meant to Have Unilateral War Powers
Foreign Affairs
November 9, 2020
The Conversations of a Self-Governing People
Knight Foundation
Principles or Practices?
Inside Higher Ed
Thanksgiving Will Soon Empty Campuses. Will Students Bring Coronavirus Home?
New York Times
November 6, 2020
Why activists for police, immigration reform need to focus on policies, not presidents
USA Today
The Pandemic Is Dragging On. Professors Are Burning Out.
Chronicle of Higher Education
How the Coronavirus Will Change Faculty Life Forever
Chronicle of Higher Education
November 3, 2020
Thanksgiving ‘Exodus’ Looms
Inside Higher Ed
Trump’s 2016 Victory Sparked Unrest on College Campuses. What Might 2020 Bring?
Chronicle of Higher Education
November 2, 2020
How To Tell If You’re Being Canceled
Reason
Federal Appeals Court: Free Speech May Be Chilled at UT Austin
Inside Higher Ed
October 29, 2020
Blaming the Messenger
Inside Higher Ed
October 27, 2020
A Tale of Two Chicagos
Real Clear Education
Covid-19 Cuts Hit Contingent Faculty Hard. As the Pandemic Drags On, Some Question Their Future.
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 26, 2020
Colleges Slash Budgets in the Pandemic, With ‘Nothing Off-Limits’
New York Times
October 15, 2020
It Takes More Than An Election To Guard Against Authoritarianism
Forbes
Graduate Enrollment Grew in 2019
Inside Higher Ed
‘We Haven’t Begun to Feel the Real Economic Damage’
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 12, 2020
Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Is Awarded to U.S. Academics
Wall Street Journal
October 9, 2020
Why helping neighbors in need is as important for America as voting
USA Today
Justice Department Sues Yale University Over Admissions Practices
Wall Street Journal
October 7, 2020
The Pandemic Has Pushed Hundreds of Thousands of Workers Out of Higher Education
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 6, 2020
Faculty Confidence in Online Learning Grows
Inside Higher Ed
The Hidden Expenses of Remote Teaching
Inside Higher Ed
October 5, 2020
America Is Having a Moral Convulsion
The Atlantic
With students — and covid-19 — on campuses, college towns look on warily
Washington Post
3 Universities Face U.S. Inquiries Into Free-Speech Controversies
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 1, 2020
More Doctoral Programs Suspend Admissions. That Could Have Lasting Effects on Graduate Education.
Chronicle of Higher Education
We run Cornell. Here’s how we’ve kept low covid-19 rates on campus.
Washington Post
September 29, 2020
More than Half of College Students Self-Censor When Race and Other Tough Topics Come Up, Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education
Standing Up for Professors
Inside Higher Ed
September 28, 2020
Have College Students Spread Covid-19 Beyond Their Campuses? It May Be Too Early to Tell
Chronicle of Higher Education
Why liberal arts education for prison inmates is a sound investment
USA Today
September 25, 2020
How Princeton Opened Itself to the Ultimate Troll
The Atlantic
Zoom Draws a Line
Inside Higher Ed
September 22, 2020
The Fight Against Words That Sound Like, but Are Not, Slurs
The Atlantic
Liberal Arts Majors Less Drawn to Authoritarianism
Inside Higher Ed
Reopening Colleges Likely Fueled Covid-19 Significantly, Study Finds
Wall Street Journal
September 21, 2020
Colleges, Conservatives and the Kakistocracy
New York Times
College students give failing grade on return to campus
Axios
Princeton’s Confession of Bias
Wall Street Journal
September 17, 2020
The Flawed Genius of the Constitution
The Atlantic
The Professor Is In: Fear, Anxiety, and the Faculty Career
Chronicle of Higher Education
September 15, 2020
How One Word Led to an Uproar
Chronicle of Higher Education
September 14, 2020
Students Seek Firing of Professor for Attending Pro-Police Rally
Inside Higher Ed
Spring Planning Has Begun. Here’s What Colleges Are Thinking So Far.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Burning Out
Inside Higher Ed
September 10, 2020
Education Department Finalizes Religious Freedom Rule
Inside Higher Ed
September 9, 2020
George Washington was silent, but Trump tweets regularly – running for president has changed over the years
The Conversation
September 8, 2020
Land of Free (and Fettered) Speech
Wall Street Journal
Today’s mob mentality politics: Just deny it, and keep moving
The Hill
September 4, 2020
Fauci Urges Colleges Not to Send Students Home
Inside Higher Ed
America must return to its classical liberal roots
Los Angeles Daily News
September 2, 2020
Academics Are Really, Really Worried About Their Freedom
The Atlantic
August 31, 2020
The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Making College Students Question the Price of Their Education
Wall Street Journal
Colleges Struggle to Control Outbreaks
Inside Higher Ed
Looking to Reopen, Colleges Become Labs for Coronavirus Tests and Tracking Apps
New York Times
August 28, 2020
Some Colleges Planned Early for an Online Fall. Here’s What They Learned.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Trigger Warnings
Inside Higher Ed
August 26, 2020
Cases Spike at Universites Nationally
Inside Higher Ed
August 24, 2020
Chipping Away at Academic Freedom
Real Clear Politics
Student papers say administrators share blame for virus outbreaks: ‘Don’t make us write obituaries’
Washington Post
Blame Game
Inside Higher Ed
August 21, 2020
Tumultuous Times Have Us Looking For Windows And Mirrors
Forbes
Will Shame Make Students Stop Socializing?
Inside Higher Ed
August 20, 2020
Something’s Got to Give
Inside Higher Ed
August 18, 2020
Higher Ed’s Moment of Truth
Inside Higher Ed
As Colleges Move Classes Online, Families Rebel Against the Cost
New York Times
August 17, 2020
A College’s ‘Free Speech Areas’ Face Supreme Court Review
New York Times
Universities Abandon Reason for a False Idea of ‘Empowerment’
Wall Street Journal
August 13, 2020
Law Alone Can’t Protect Free Speech
Wall Street Journal
How Racist Are Universities, Really?
Chronicle of Higher Education
August 12, 2020
August Wave of Campus Reopening Reversals
Inside Higher Ed
The pandemic has made clear that college students are customers
Washington Post
August 10, 2020
The Princeton Faculty’s Anti-Free-Speech Demands
The Atlantic
The Cancel Culture Checklist
Persuasion
July 23, 2020
Canceling Emeritus
Inside Higher Ed
The Harper’s ‘Letter,” Cancel Culture and the Summer That Drove A Lot of Smart People Mad
Washington Post
July 22, 2020
In A Pandemic, We Need Philosophers Too
Forbes
Proposals to Revoke Emeritus Professor Status Brings ‘Cancel Culture’ Debate to San Diego State
Los Angeles Times
July 21, 2020
What’s Next For Remote Learning?
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Hoped For An In-Person Fall. Now the Dream Is Crumbling.
Chronicle of Higher Education
July 20, 2020
The Professor Is In: Fear, Anxiety, and the Faculty Career
Chronicle of Higher Education
Call It The Cultural Left. Do Not Call It Liberal.
Washington Post
On Some College Campuses, A New Fall Rite: Coronavirus Testing
Washington Post
July 17, 2020
Do Progressives Have a Free Speech Problem?
New York Times
July 15, 2020
U.S. Rescinds Visa Policy That Could Have Forced Colleges to Hold Some Classes in Person
Chronicle of Higher Education
Stay Apart or Stay Home
Inside Higher Ed
The Speech Police at Princeton
Wall Street Journal
July 14, 2020
Why I’ll Be on Campus This Fall
Wall Street Journal
July 13, 2020
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Free Speech Case Against Georgia Gwinnett
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Colleges Say Hybrid Courses Will Make the Fall A Success. But Will Students Get the Worst of Both Worlds?
Chronicle of Higher Education
July 10, 2020
The Perils of ‘With Us or Against Us’
The Atlantic
July 9, 2020
Teaching One Side of the Story
Inside Higher Ed
As MIT and Harvard Sue, Colleges Scramble to Respond to New Federal Policy on International Students
Chronicle of Higher Education
N.C. Protects Colleges From Pandemic-Related Lawsuits
Inside Higher Ed
The Reaction to the Harper’s Letter on Cancel Culture Proves Why It Was Necessary
Reason
July 8, 2020
Harvard, MIT Sue Immigration Officials Over Rule Blocking Some International Students
NPR
How Can Graduate Programs and Students Prepare for an Uncertain Fall?
Chronicle of Higher Education
Yes, Your Zoom Teaching Can Be First-Rate
Inside Higher Ed
July 7, 2020
COVID-19 Roundup: More Universities Announce Online Plans
Inside Higher Ed
Georgia Backs Down. Masks Will Be Mandatory at Its Colleges This Fall.
Chronicle of Higher Education
July 6, 2020
Campuses Reckon with Racist Past
Inside Higher Ed
July 1, 2020
Lessons From A Course on the Pandemic
Chronicle of Higher Education
Georgia’s Top-Down Management of Higher Ed Causes Covid-19 Chaos
Inside Higher Ed
June 30, 2020
Living Up To The Liberal Promise
Forbes
The Wild Card For An In-Person Fall: College Student Behavior
NPR
Why Cornell Will Reopen in the Fall
Wall Street Journal
June 29, 2020
Free Speech On Trial at CMU
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 24, 2020
Trying to Make Sense of a Fluid Fall
Inside Higher Ed
Being a Black Academic in America
Chronicle of Higher Education