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

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Articles and Archives

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

Horowitz vs. Islamo-Billikenism
September 30, 2009 By Peter Wood and Ashley Thorne
Perhaps St. Louis University's pointy-eared mascot was behind SLU's recent decision to disinvite David Horowitz from speaking on campus.

Diversity's Doom & Pluralism's Plans
September 29, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
A new book, The Politically Correct University, features chapters by NAS's president Peter Wood and NAS chairman Steve Balch.
1 comment - Last on 10/01/2009

Dancing with the STARS
September 28, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
AASHE publishes an early version of a project called the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) to measure colleges' sustainability progress.

Campus Reform Looks Forward
September 25, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
NAS welcomes a new web-based effort to reform higher education.
2 comments - Last on 10/01/2009

Never Waste a Good Cliché
September 24, 2009 By Peter Wood
The sustainability ethic of a college president

Name That Blog
September 24, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Announcing NAS's new blog - can you help us give it a name?

California Association Talks of War
September 24, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Our California affiliate invites you to a free evening with Victor Davis Hanson.

Higher Education and Economic Growth
September 23, 2009 By Tom Wood
Tom Wood makes the case that higher education is worth public support.

What Good Are People?
September 22, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Two ominous new developments for the sustainability movement: the MAHB and a sustainability literacy handbook.
1 comment - Last on 09/23/2009

Spring and Summer Highlights
September 21, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
We present a round-up of the some of the best articles from the last few months, in case you missed one or would like to revisit your favorites.

What's Cooking
September 20, 2009 By Peter Wood
Yale, Virgina Tech, East Georgia, Eastern Michigan, Latin American Historians, 21st Century Cluelessness, and CampusReform.org--we've got it all.

Single Payer Lending
September 19, 2009 By Peter Wood
The U.S. Houses passes "direct lending" bill as part of President Obama's plan for higher ed. What does it mean?
2 comments - Last on 09/20/2009

On the Passing of Irving Kristol: A Memory and Tribute
September 18, 2009 By Steve Balch
NAS chairman Steve Balch pays tribute to Irving Kristol, 1920-2009.
1 comment - Last on 09/21/2009

Vapor Trail: The UN's Plan for Higher Education
September 18, 2009 By Peter Wood
The United Nations asks presidents of all colleges and universities in the world to sign its "Academic Impact" initiative.

Inadequate and Superfluous
September 18, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
A Princeton professor feels too white to talk about diversity.

An Interview with David Silverstein
September 18, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa brings integrity to the disciplines.

The Shape of (Academic) Things to Come
September 17, 2009 By Peter Wood
It’s 2029. Do you know where your university is?
4 comments - Last on 09/19/2009

U Arizona Celebrates Chicano Walk-Out Day with a Teach-In
September 16, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
La Raza studies, teaching students that white America is the enemy, lives on in American public education.

Horse-Hair Justice
September 15, 2009 By Peter Wood
Thoughts on "21st-Century Skills" and where education should begin.
1 comment - Last on 09/16/2009

Not for Crybabies
September 14, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Do universities study conservative political thought?

Tray Chic
September 11, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Colleges experiment in trayless dining...and mind manipulation.
1 comment - Last on 09/14/2009

Paglia’s Scimitar
September 10, 2009 By Peter Wood
The feminist-lesbian-leftist calls higher education out as a "rote regurgitation of hackneyed approved terms."
1 comment - Last on 06/28/2010

Eastern Michigan U Expels Student for Her Beliefs
September 09, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Video: Julea Ward tells her story
4 comments - Last on 09/10/2009

Dem Bones, Dem Barebones Education...
September 03, 2009 By Peter Wood and Glenn Ricketts
Online education gains respectability as the wave of the future.
9 comments - Last on 09/07/2009

Middle East and Africa Scholars Meet Next Month
September 03, 2009 By Ashley Thorne
Seats are still available at the ASMEA conference in October.

Sustainability is a Waste
10 Reasons to Oppose the Sustainability Movement on Your Campus
September 03, 2009 By Peter Wood and Ashley Thorne
College students hear a lot about sustainability these days, but do you know what it really means?
7 comments - Last on 09/06/2009

Seven Imaginary Curricula
September 01, 2009 By Peter Wood
Most colleges don't seize the opportunity to do something original. We suggest they try a new approach, such as the labyrinth curriculum.
1 comment - Last on 09/08/2009

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Take Back the Classroom from PowerPoint
September 02, 2010 By Jason Fertig
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
September 02, 2010 By Glenn Ricketts
Student journalists examine topics from presidential speeches to campus smoking bans.

Will You Promote Diversity? Virginia Tech Tests Faculty Candidates’ Commitment
September 01, 2010 By Peter Wood and Ashley Thorne
A major public university has fashioned a “diversity” litmus test for faculty hiring

FIRE Educates for Free Speech on Campus
August 31, 2010 By Glenn Ricketts
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
August 30, 2010 By Ashley Thorne
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
August 30, 2010 By Jackson Toby
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
August 27, 2010 By Ashley Thorne
Is Brooklyn College using freshman reading for ideological goals?

Question of the Week: How Many Colleges Should You Apply To?
August 27, 2010 By Ashley Thorne
To answer, leave a comment on this article, email us, or respond via Facebook or Twitter (no more than 140 characters).

Atlas Black Shrugs
August 26, 2010 By Jason Fertig
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
August 26, 2010 By Glenn Ricketts
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
August 25, 2010 By Richard J. Bishirjian
How the attacks on for-profit higher ed are squashing needed competition.

New Excellent Programs: Tocqueville Program and Center for Statesmanship
August 24, 2010 By Ashley Thorne
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
August 23, 2010 By Stanley W. Trimble, Wayne W. Grody, Bill McKelvey, and Mohamed Gad-el-Hak
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
August 20, 2010 By David Clemens
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?
August 20, 2010 By Ashley Thorne
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
August 19, 2010 By Robert L. Paquette
Professor Paquette responds to the controversy generated this summer after Hamilton College sought to censor his NAS article.

Real Ethics Education
August 19, 2010 By Jason Fertig
Ethics courses should make moral decisions personal, argues Jason Fertig.

Collegiate Press Roundup 8-18-10
August 18, 2010 By Glenn Ricketts
Student journalists tackle gay marriage, weird psycholgy studies and state liquor regulations.

5 Consequences of Administrative Bloat
August 18, 2010 By Ashley Thorne
What happens to higher education when universities are dominated by administrators?

Ravitch Repentant
August 17, 2010 By Peter Cohee
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.