One of America’s most perceptive and productive scholars of our nation’s education system is Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He, along with an associate, Richard Keck, has produced a tremendous study, “Putting ‘Education’ Back in Higher Ed,” for AEI. A rarity these days: I agree with virtually every word they said. […]
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For many college students, course difficulty doesn’t always reflect effort or intelligence. An English major might breeze through novels but panic during a chemistry midterm. A biology student may ace molecular pathways but dread every writing assignment. These struggles aren’t signs of inadequacy—they reflect the mental pivot students must make between disciplines. What seems “hard” […]
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Ohio SB 1, which will do an extraordinary amount to depoliticize Ohio’s public higher education system, strengthen intellectual diversity, and restore its accountability to Ohio policymakers and citizens, well and truly will become law. Governor Mike DeWine signed SB 1 into law at the end of March. Since then, Ohio professors organized a petition campaign […]
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July 2025 will mark the centenary of the famous Tennessee “Scopes monkey trial.” This is the fourth and last article in a series leading up to the centennial events in Dayton, Tennessee, the site of the trial. Read the first in the series here, the second here, and the third here. Just what was the Scopes […]
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Editor’s Note: The following is an article originally published on the College Fix on June 24, 2025. With edits to match Minding the Campus’s style guidelines, it is crossposted here with permission. More than half of the American colleges and universities that pledged to remain neutral on hot-button political issues posted in support of LGBT “pride” this June, […]
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Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article originally published on Heterodox Stem on June 11, 2025. With (some) edits to match Minding the Campus’s style guidelines, it is crossposted here with permission. Author’s Note: This is a relatively long article for Heterodox STEM, and the theme is puzzling. What does the evolution of anti-Semitism […]
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When it comes to higher education in the United States, one of the most frequently discussed topics among students and parents is tuition fees. For those planning to attend college, understanding how these fees are calculated can be both confusing and overwhelming. This blog breaks down the key factors that influence tuition costs, providing clarity […]
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Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by the Observatory of University Ethics on April 10, 2025. The Observatory translated it into English from French. I have edited it, to the best of my ability, to align with Minding the Campus’s style guidelines. It is crossposted here with permission. Last April, Fabrice Balanche, a […]
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Author’s Note: This article is from my weekly “Top of Mind” email, sent to subscribers every Thursday. For more content like this and to receive the full newsletter each week, enter your name and email under “SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, ‘TOP OF MIND,’” located on the right-hand side of the site. “In order to […]
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The reconciliation bill is shaping up to be the boldest legislative change in higher education in decades. But it is still in an early stage, with the House having passed its version, and the Senate hoping to do so soon. Next will come negotiation to work out any differences between the House and Senate versions, […]
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In Episode 8 of The Week in Science, I outline the details of the 2026 presidential budget request for science funding, highlighting some new studies that detail the complex migration of humans from Africa. This being the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws, there’s news about the science of sharks, too! […]
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The Harvard Crimson has a grammar-challenged headline asking, “Who Does Harvard Owe?” The editors rebuff all those who believe that Harvard owes something to America. Or for that matter, to “Congress,” the media, its alumni, and others on the question of how the university should be governed. The Crimson’s answer boils down to ‘shove off, […]
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On April 9th, I reported that more than two dozen articles by National Science Foundation (NSF) director Sethuraman Panchanathan had been called out for verbatim copying without citing sources, some of which were copyrighted. Two weeks later, on April 24th, Panchanathan announced his departure from NSF, but did not provide a reason. He returned to […]
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On Monday, June 9, the American Council on Education (ACE) hosted an afternoon Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The program featured a keynote address by author and Professor Ryan R. Burge, as well as remarks by representatives from religious schools such as Reverend Robert A. Dowd, President of Notre […]
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal on June 13, 2025. With edits to match Minding the Campus’s style guidelines, it is crossposted here with permission. Following the shock caused by the anti-Semitic campus riots of spring 2024, Günther Jikeli spoke up. Jikeli, an associate professor from Germany and one of […]
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Editor’s Note: The following is an article originally published on the College Fix on June 24, 2025. With edits to match Minding the Campus’s style guidelines, it is crossposted here with permission. To honor its inaugural Title IX month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has launched an investigation into the University of Wyoming (UW) […]
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a National Terrorism Advisory System warning. This concerns the potential risks to civilians that could arise from sleeper cells within any domestic institution. Several of our universities—especially elite universities—have been protecting thousands of unknown illegal border invaders, with legal assistance services administered through their law schools, and […]
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“What Is Replacing DEI? Racism” is the title of a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by Arizona State University professor Richard Amesbury. It is provocative, for sure, but also comes across as ignorant since racism is to many people a feature of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) itself. How can abolishing DEI […]
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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 […]
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From the Military Times: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has barred the U.S. military service academies from considering race, gender or ethnicity in their admissions processes, ending the practice of affirmative action upheld by the Supreme Court two years ago. This is an easy order for Hegseth to give. But it will be hard for him, […]
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