Author: Noah Swank
-
How to Influence a University Without Anyone Noticing
Categories: University GovernanceBy Tao TanMarch 2, 2026 The Mellon Foundation has changed the shape of the humanities and social sciences, as three recent pieces have powerfully shown. Tyler Austin Harper argued in The Atlantic that Mellon’s funding concentration leaves ambitious humanities scholars with little practical alternative to aligning their work with the foundation’s priorities. John D. Sailer
-
Higher Education’s Internal Trust Crisis
Categories: University GovernanceWhy Faculty, Administrators, and Trustees Struggle to Work Together By Thomas W. SmithFebruary 17, 2026 Everyone knows about the loss of public trust in higher education. Seven out of ten Americans surveyed reported that higher education is generally headed in the wrong direction. Only 30% of the public has high levels of trust in the
-
In Search of Good Citizens and Civic Leaders?
Categories: Civic ThoughtDon’t Overlook Students Enrolled at Non-Selective Institutions By J. Cherie StrachanFebruary 10, 2026 Recent discussions about reinvigorating the cultivation of good citizens and civic leaders in the United States have largely focused on the role that faculty at elite institutions should play in this endeavor. Yet tailoring such efforts to elite institutions will be ineffective
-
Civic Education for Civic Capacities
Categories: Civic ThoughtBy Andrew J. PerrinFebruary 10, 2026 If higher education should focus on civic education as part of its commitment to the public good, what should that civic education look like? And how will we know if we have been successful in designing and providing it? Good citizenship requires a balance between commitment and forbearance—or, more
-
Can Civic Thought Reach Students Alienated from Civic Life?
By Ari KohnFebruary 10, 2026 To think like a citizen is to take responsibility for a shared world. Yet for many college students today, that world no longer feels shared—nor does it seem worth taking responsibility for. Any attempt to reestablish a civic mission within the contemporary university confronts a basic condition: civics cannot find
-
Five Reasons Viewpoint Diversity Makes Academic Sense
Categories: Viewpoint DiversityBy Jenna Silber Storey and Benjamin Storey January 26, 2026 Everyone seems to be talking about viewpoint diversity—but it is often unclear what exactly we are talking about. Do hiring committees need to look up the voter registrations of job candidates? Does a philosophy department that includes both analytic and continental approaches count? What about
-
How a few foundations shape academic culture
Categories: University GovernanceBy Tao TanJanuary 23, 2026 A surprisingly small stream of private money may play an outsized role in shaping academic culture in American higher education. Out of higher education’s $772 billion revenue base, just 0.16% of that, or roughly $1.2 billion per year, flows to the humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS) from U.S.-based foundation
-
In COVID’s Wake
Categories: Science and Society -
Closed Classrooms