National Association of Scholars, a non-profit organization of higher education faculty, administrators, and graduate students

Change font size

Articles

Most recent posting below. See other articles in the column to the right.

Stanley Fish for Conservative Chair
May 28, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
We may have found the man for the job at UC Boulder.

Political Correctness in the Science Classroom
May 27, 2008 By Noretta Koertge
We are pleased to be the first to publish the following essay by Noretta Koertge, Professor emeritus in History & Philosophy of Science at Indiana University. Koertge drafted this article for and presented it at a conference on “Reforming the PC University” at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington in November 2007.

We'll Be Watching
May 27, 2008 By Jan H. Blits and Linda S. Gottfredson
The University of Delaware’s Board of Trustees approved a new “enhanced Residence Life Education Program” at its annual May meeting.
1 comment - Last on 06/26/2008

More Than a Few Degrees Off
May 23, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
What's in a diploma?

Campus Speech Codes: Absurd, Tenacious, and Everywhere
May 23, 2008 By Greg Lukianoff
Greg Lukianoff, the President for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, drafted the following article for and presented it at a conference on “Reforming the PC University” at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington in November 2007. We are grateful to AEI for permission to publish this important essay, which appears here for the first time in print.

Bugged
May 21, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
A blogger aims to subvert NASW and social work ideologues.

The Sweet Lemon Effect: College Grads Doubt Value of College Degrees—Except Their Own
May 21, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
The American Council on Education released a survey showing that, although most people think that colleges in general charge unfair prices, most people also believe that their own alma mater charged them fairly. Whence the self-confidence?
2 comments - Last on 04/21/2009

NAS Is Moving
May 20, 2008 By Peter Wood
On May 30, we will move in to our new office space near the Princeton airport.

Oreos on the Higher-Ed-Way
May 19, 2008 By Peter Wood
A truck-driver sleeps and spills 14 tons of double-stuffed cookies. We think this is a reflective metaphor as American colleges drowsily serve up ultra-packed, sugary doses of fluffy education.

Misfire in Boulder
May 16, 2008 By Steve Balch
A brief reflection on a misconceived attempt to address the problem of intellectual pluralism in academe.

Update on Bill Felkner: Rhode Island College Bias-Revelers Evacuate
May 16, 2008 By Ashley Thorne

How You Play the Game: NCAA Sticks to Academic Standards for Athletes
May 15, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
NAS cheers the NCAA, which doles out rewards and penalties to college athletic teams based on academic performance.
1 comment - Last on 07/05/2008

Delaware's Amateur Hour or For Whom the Gong Tolls
May 15, 2008 By Steve Balch
A message from NAS President Steve Balch to American faculty about the residence life debacle at the University of Delaware.
1 comment - Last on 05/27/2008

Georgia Halts Curricular Overhaul: University System Will Reconsider Protested Core Changes
May 14, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
After 400+ faculty and staff members signed a petition against USG's proposed core curriculum models, the University System of Georgia just announced that it will stop its push to revise the curriculum at 35 state colleges.

The Shaggy Dog Story: Has 'Reading First' Flopped?
May 14, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
After the Department of Education released a study indicating the failure of federal initiative Reading First, NAS seized the moment to ponder such programs' efficacy in teaching children to read.

What Does 'Sustainability' Have to Do With Student Loans?
May 14, 2008 By Peter Wood - Minding the Campus
Students spend too much on too little as colleges buy in to some flimsy trends.

How to Defeat the Res Lifer’s Nouveau Indoctrination Program
May 08, 2008 By Tom Wood
It's not the university's job to save the planet.

Harder Core: UGA Nixes Regional Proposals; Opts for Rigorous Curriculum
May 08, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
Rather than adopt proposals for a curriculum based on globalism and sustainability, the University of Georgia has made changes in favor of more academic rigor.

REPORTS FROM THE ACADEMY: Social Work Agonistes (Preview from Academic Questions)
May 07, 2008 By David Stoesz
CSWE and social work education's romance with identity politics.

Igloo Building: A Primer on the Financial Aid Fiasco
May 07, 2008 By Peter Wood
A glimpse at the student loan crisis and its implications for the academic world.

A Head Full of Headphones: The Rise of iTunes U
May 06, 2008 By Ashley Thorne and Peter Wood
Smart AND fun: iTunes U combines higher learning with entertainment.

UD Faculty, Students Stand Up Against Res Life Proposal
May 06, 2008
The University of Delaware Faculty Senate held debate over the proposed new residence life program, a repackaged version of what was formerly known as "the treatment."

Human Nature: NAS Attends an Environmental Justice Conference
May 02, 2008 By Ashley Thorne
Ashley Thorne shares reflections on the "Race, Place, and Environmental Justice" conference held on campus at Princeton.

↑ back to the top

Is ‘Good President’ Redundant?
November 20, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Time magazine recently published a list of the 10 best college presidents. But what makes a president "good"? Are there good college presidents, or are they all just silly people in silly jobs?

NAS President’s Report
November 18, 2009 By Peter Wood
President Peter Wood tells what's next for the National Association of Scholars and gives five ways new members can help our work.

What Makes College Worth the Cost?
November 17, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Expected future earnings? A rigorous and complete education?

SustainaReligion
November 16, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Climate change faith has been ruled a protected “philosophical belief” in the UK.

My Degree in Diversity
November 13, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
After completing an online course on how to lead diversity education workshops, guess what I learned?
2 comments - Last on 11/16/2009

Election 2008: The University's Long Shadow
November 12, 2009 By Peter Wood
How the 2008 election illustrates the reigning narratives that guide higher education.

Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones (1922-2009)
November 12, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
The National Association of Scholars mourns the passing of Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones (1922-2009), who served as a member of our Board of Advisors along with his wife Mary Lefkowitz.

Blue Blastoff
November 10, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
A school in lower Manhattan created by the Blue Man Group believes we can't teach kids facts anymore...but we can teach them to "build a harmonious and sustainable world."
1 comment - Last on 11/12/2009

Should Everyone Go?
November 09, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
President Obama's goal - that by 2020 America would have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world - will require a huge expansion of higher education. But is that wise?

The Chico Romance
November 06, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
A sustainability conference at CSU-Chico prompts a concerned letter. NAS spots some good reasons for concern.
1 comment - Last on 11/16/2009

Response to Mitchell
November 06, 2009 By Jonathan Smith
After NAS posted Academic Questions article "Remapping Geography," Don Mitchell offered a response to the authors, Jonathan M. Smith and Jim Norwine. Here Professor Smith responds to Mitchell.
1 comment - Last on 11/09/2009

Message to Ed Schools: Practice What You Teach
November 06, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Teachers-in-training should learn something before they begin teaching. But they should not learn just anything.

Response to Smith and Norwine on Remapping Geography
November 05, 2009 By Don Mitchell
Dr. Don Mitchell, author of Cultural Geography: A Critical Introduction who was mentioned in Professors Smith and Norwine's Academic Questions article "Remapping Geography," offers a response to their article.
1 comment - Last on 11/09/2009

Academic Freedom Forum
November 05, 2009 By Peter Wood - Minding the Campus
This article, originally posted at MindingtheCampus.com, is a response, added to those of others, to University of Chicago president Robert Zimmer's recent speech on academic freedom.

George Lakoff’s New Happiness: Politics after Rationality
November 04, 2009 By John B. Parrott
This article by John B. Parrott on the ideas and contemporary influence of Berkeley professor George Lakoff will appear in a forthcoming issue of Academic Questions (vol. 22, no. 4).
1 comment - Last on 11/05/2009

LEAPs and Bounds
November 03, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
An initiative spawned of the outcomes assessment movement, Liberal Education & America's Promise (LEAP), sounds boring enough. But what is really going on when the lords of of education go a-LEAP-ing? NAS investigates.
1 comment - Last on 11/09/2009

Remapping Geography
November 02, 2009 By Jonathan M. Smith and Jim Norwine
This article by Jonathan M. Smith and Jim Norwine on the state of academic geography will appear in a forthcoming issue of Academic Questions (vol. 22, no. 4).

"An Unsuccessful Education Can Ruin You"
October 30, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
A CUNY graduate professor teaches education ethics; his students discuss the meaning of academic freedom and the question of university neutrality. Now if only all faculty members and administrators took this course...
2 comments - Last on 11/04/2009

Responding to Weissberg
October 29, 2009 By Peter Wood
NAS president Peter Wood has published a response to Robert Weissberg's "Rescuing the University." His response may be found at Minding the Campus.

Intellectual Diversity or Nonsense?
October 28, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
"Our classroom has become an arena for the free exchange of ideas in which everyone's opinion is welcomed and respected." But should everyone's opinion be welcomed and respected? Is that what intellectual diversity means?
2 comments - Last on 11/04/2009