Articles and Archives

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"An Unsuccessful Education Can Ruin You"

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 11/03/2009

Responding to Weissberg

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?

"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 10/29/2009

Neander-Thoughts: Reply to Steiner

Does academic freedom mean I can ignore the terms of my grant? University of Alaska Professor Richard Steiner thinks so and challenges the NAS to rescind an award to a university president who got in his way. We won't. Here's why.
1 comment - Last on 10/28/2009

Richard Steiner Responds

The University Alaska professor who was denied grant funding for engaging in sustainability advocacy responds to the NAS.

Sustainability Skepticism Has Arrived

Two controversies this week wrought an unexpected clash between sustainability ideologues and universities that decided to stand on fundamental principles of higher education.

Building Sandcastles or Filling Holes?

Andrew Smarick holds the White House accountable for its use of education stimulus funds

Happy Campus Sustainability Day

With its Second Nature roots, global warming alarmist moderator, and exuberant intentions to “celebrate sustainability in higher education,” Campus Sustainability Day promises to deliver the usual political agenda of the sustainatopians.
1 comment - Last on 10/22/2009

Social Justice Revisited

NAS highlights the social justice movement in higher education.
1 comment - Last on 10/22/2009

Any Racists Here?...No Comment

A psychology professor declares, "I make it a point to ask my students, 'So, are there any students in here who see themselves as racist?'"
3 comments - Last on 10/20/2009

The Dark Side of Diversity

"Being white and straight, I felt doubly cursed with a dearth of fascinating material. What story could I tell to prove my worth?" One woman's college experience provides a glimpse at how the diversity movement punishes even its supporters.

An Interview with Holly Swanson

An Oregon-based organization called Operation Green Out! works “to get green politics out in the open and out of the classroom.”

New Book by NAS Board Member

Today we introduce a new feature on our website in which NAS members write about books they have authored. Our first such article is by NAS board member Ken Doyle.

Peace Plus One

Culture watch: the three-finger salute symbolizes the three pillars of sustainability - it's "peace plus one"!

Politicizing the NEH

The new chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities wants to correct Americans' "disrespectful" attitude towards Muslim culture. He is also annoyed at culture warriors and excitable people at town halls. NEH seems next on the list of government agencies to be politicized.
1 comment - Last on 10/13/2009

Encyclopedia of Sustainability

NAS presents an encyclopedia of the key names, terms, and organizations in the sector of sustainability activism aimed specifically at re-centering elementary and higher education around sustainability practice.
1 comment - Last on 10/09/2009

(Wild) Western Civilization

Wild West killer-for-hire "Deacon" Jim Miller dressed the part of a church-going citizen. Why does UNC Chapel Hill lecture series on "Renewing the Western Tradition" come to mind?

"Collective Certainty" at Work

Macalester College president Brian Rosenberg models the new face of political correctness.

Spotlight - Thomas Edison State College

A public institution enables students cobble together a college degree by taking online classes earning credit for what they already know.

Superb New Book by CT Affiliate Head

We are proud to recognize that Jay Bergman, president of the NAS Connecticut affiliate and professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, has published a new book, Meeting the Demands of Reason: The Life and Thought of Andrei Sakharov.

Academic Freedom and Discontent

NAS President Peter Wood delivered this presentation at the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization in February.

Letter to Dean Smith from David Horowitz

David Horowitz defends himself to St. Louis University Dean of Students Scott Smith.

Take Back the Classroom from PowerPoint

Restrict PowerPoint use in teaching to pictures and videos, writes Jason Fertig. Too much PowerPoint usurps professors' authority and accustoms students to lazy thinking.

Collegiate Press Roundup 9-2-10

Student journalists examine topics from presidential speeches to campus smoking bans.

Will You Promote Diversity? Virginia Tech Tests Faculty Candidates’ Commitment

A major public university has fashioned a “diversity” litmus test for faculty hiring

FIRE Educates for Free Speech on Campus

FIRE will offer a Free Speech Seminar in NYC on September 14.

University Speaker Series: Arab Feminism, Black Feminism, and "A Southern Queer Love Story"...No Comment

A program on gender and diversity at the University of Richmond will explore "emancipatory ideas of social justice" this fall.

How Scholarships Morphed into Financial Aid

This excerpt from Jackson Toby's latest book, The Lowering of Higher Education in America: Why Financial Aid Should Be Based on Student Performance, will appear in the forthcoming fall issue of Academic Questions (vol. 23, no. 3).

Common Reading Controversy at Brooklyn College

Is Brooklyn College using freshman reading for ideological goals?

Question of the Week: How Many Colleges Should You Apply To?

To answer, leave a comment on this article, email us, or respond via Facebook or Twitter (no more than 140 characters).

Atlas Black Shrugs

The first comic book textbook combines management jargon and theories and packages them into a story about a slacker student's attempt to become an entrepreneur.
1 comment - Last on 08/27/2010

Collegiate Press Roundup 8-26-10

Student journalists have a look at the Ground Zero mosque controversy, reducing your carbon footprint and the pitfalls of "sexting."

A Regulatory Assault on For-Profit Higher Education

How the attacks on for-profit higher ed are squashing needed competition.

New Excellent Programs: Tocqueville Program and Center for Statesmanship

Check out our list of excellent programs as we add new ones at Indiana and Richmond.

The Glut of Academic Publishing: A Call for a New Culture

This article will appear in the forthcoming fall issue of Academic Questions (vol. 23, no. 3). A short version of this paper appeared under the title “We Must Stop the Avalanche of Low-Quality Research” in the June 13, 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education.
1 comment - Last on 08/25/2010

Building a 21st Century Syllabus

Professors these days have to cover their backs when writing syllabi, writes David Clemens.
2 comments - Last on 08/20/2010

Question of the Week: Why Did You Choose Your College?

We're starting a new "Question of the Week" series. We'll have a new higher-education-related question every week. To answer, leave a comment on this article, email us, or respond via Facebook or Twitter (no more than 140 characters).
2 comments - Last on 08/20/2010

Dictatorships and Double Standards, Part II

Professor Paquette responds to the controversy generated this summer after Hamilton College sought to censor his NAS article.

Real Ethics Education

Ethics courses should make moral decisions personal, argues Jason Fertig.

Collegiate Press Roundup 8-18-10

Student journalists tackle gay marriage, weird psycholgy studies and state liquor regulations.

5 Consequences of Administrative Bloat

What happens to higher education when universities are dominated by administrators?

Ravitch Repentant

Peter Cohee reviews Diane Ravitch's book, a partial volte-face, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.

 

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