In the second episode of VAS News Chat, I join Teresa Manning, Policy Director at the National Association of Scholars and President of its Virginia affiliate, for a conversation on some of last week’s most important developments in higher education.
We begin with my recent article on the decline of the liberal arts—and how conservatives have contributed to that decline. I argue that the right has largely abandoned the liberal arts in favor of STEM fields and so-called “marketable skills,” favoring a broader commercialization of education. Today’s students are trained to assess degrees by their return on investment, rather than to pursue learning for its own sake. In the process, we’ve given up on the life of the mind.
Manning points out that a liberal arts education was once an unheard-of luxury, and argues that much of it could, in theory, take place at the high school level. I agree—but the reality is grim. Most students graduate high school with only a cursory understanding—if that—of their government, their intellectual heritage, or the foundations of Western civilization. If conservatives don’t reclaim the liberal arts, we’ll leave that terrain entirely to the left—a forfeiture that would only accelerate the unraveling of American civic and cultural life.
Still, Manning remains hopeful.
She points to, for example, the growing number of students turning to classical and religious education. There is, in fact, a steady rise in enrollment at religious institutions—a trend that may represent a quiet rebellion against the political conformity and moral confusion that dominate most public—and increasingly, private—universities. I argue that it’s also part of a broader religious revival in America, as more and more young people are beginning to turn back to the church.
From there, we discuss the oversized role athletics plays in higher ed. As Manning puts it, “We are absolute maniacs about athletics.” The Department of Energy is now proposing changes to Title IX that align with Trump’s executive orders. For sports, this means schools would no longer be required to let a student join a team of the opposite sex if no team exists for their own sex (e.g., a girl trying out for the boys’ tennis team if there is no girls’ team). But the problem with athletics goes beyond Title IX. Athletics, Manning and I say, serves as a kind of bread and circus—a convenient distraction from the DEI-laden policies that define today’s university. (I also share some thoughts on Minding the Campus contributor Richard Vedder’s views on college athletics during the podcast—but you can dive deeper into his take here.)
We conclude with a discussion of the University of Virginia, where Professor Scott Gerber notes that the board recently dismissed a conversation about viewpoint diversity. UVA is already under federal investigation for viewpoint discrimination, but the school appears content to dig in. As Manning and I discuss, we believe many universities are simply trying to “wait it out”—stalling until the political winds shift and a leftist takes the White House at the end of Trump’s term.
While we wait to upload this to YouTube, you can watch the episode here. This article will be updated with the YouTube link as soon as it’s posted.
Watch this first episode here.
Image of “Franciscan University Rosary Circle” by Jim Coyle on Flickr; In November 2024, it was reported that enrollment at Franciscan University of Steubenville rose six percent to 3,972 students.
