Our little book on a big issue is out, with thought-provoking essays from @annieabrams.bsky.social, @lydiamillet.bsky.social, @briankgoodman.bsky.social, @electrostani.bsky.social, @jeremycyoung.bsky.social, @edrabinski.bsky.social, and more who are not on here--hoping people find it useful
This is tomorrow at 1 PM ET! Come hear me, Heidi Tseu, and Joe Brenckle talk about public trust and higher ed leadership. Thanks to the Association of Governing Boards for organizing.
I'll be speaking about public trust in higher education at this webinar hosted by the Association of Governing Boards. Sign up for free at the link. agb.org/events/webin...
Higher ed is where we name who we are and dream of who we want to become. That dream is under threat. I’m proud to introduce the @alliancehighered.bsky.social and humbled to serve as its inaugural president. Join the movement in support opportunity and democracy: allianceforhighered.org
"Even after accounting for the upfront costs and delayed benefits, enrolling marginal applicants to public universities generates substantial net returns for society, the marginal students themselves, and the government budget."
Public Universities FTW!
The WHITE HOUSE 45 47 K PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS RESTORING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ENDING FEDERAL CENSORSHIP The White House January 20, 2025
A memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi said these agendas may merit a federal investigation: • "anti-Americanism" • "anti-capitalism" • "anti-Christianity" • "opposition to law and immigration enforcement" - "radical gender ideology" - "hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality"
Our new golden age of free speech, where opposition to immigration enforcement can trigger a federal investigation
For higher ed's next steps, "internal reform, improved communication, and better defense are inseparable parts of a whole." Kathryn Enke and I are @insidehighered.com, responding to @saracuster.insidehighered.com on higher ed's public trust problem.
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/lett...
Heather is a great writer and a rigorous historian. But I think her generosity of spirit is what has shown through and made her a celebrity. She is really not trying to lead a wing of the Democratic Party; she is giving hope and encouragement to people consumed by despair.
Heather's other distinguishing feature is her unshakable belief in the American experiment. In the nation's darkest moments, that can lead her a little in the direction of "hopium." But most of the time, she is offering necessary guidance and hope to people who are overwhelmed by modern politics.
What distinguishes Heather as a person and an intellectual is her extraordinary kindness and generosity. She was not a particularly famous historian, but she had a cult following among academics because of her almost reckless generosity to junior scholars, of which I was one of the beneficiaries.
As someone who has been friends with @hcrichardson.bsky.social since before she was famous, I think this Nate Silver piece offers an interesting analysis of Democratic Party politics but misunderstands Heather and her appeal a bit. www.natesilver.net/p/what-is-he...
An outstanding @nytopinion.nytimes.com op-ed on homeschooling from @Stefan Merrill Block, which includes extensive coverage of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education and its work.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/o...
That basic insight still animates my work outside of the academy, as I study why higher education has lost the trust of the American public. I am still drawn to approaches that start with a description of people's experiences, while decentering my own. In that respect, I'm still learning from Rob.
If I'm not mistaken, @galbeckerman.bsky.social errs a bit in pigeonholing Rob as someone who "questions whether humans have anything in common." The thrust of Rob's work is that we can only make meaning from people's experiences if we understand them first on their own terms, not on ours.
What a pleasure it was today to read a profile of my brilliant and generous friend @boddice.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com. Overall it's a great piece, and more people should understand the revolutionary potential of Rob's work.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work.
Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
This is true but so maddening. The promise of social media was that you could make friends with people who didn't live near you or travel in your circles. Because social media companies have monetized sharing your thoughts with the world's worst trolls instead, that promise is gone.
Higher Education’s Compact with America: Shared Principles for the Common Good https://bit.ly/3WbZv8K
Great piece by @compact.org's Bobbie Laur in response to the other "Compact" being proffered to universities by the administration.
compact.org/news/a-highe...
I enjoyed speaking with Juliet Schulman-Hall for @masslive.bsky.social about how the Professor Watchlist and Canary Mission get us farther from, not closer to, a free exchange of ideas on campus. www.masslive.com/news/2025/10...
“Surviving for a purpose means keeping the mission of an institution at the forefront of decision-making.” Read AAC&U's @jeremycyoung.bsky.social’s “Survive for a Purpose.” https://bit.ly/4h1cUtE #LibEdMag
We got some coverage for the new Advancing Public Trust initiative in @theeduledger.bsky.social (formerly Diverse)! www.theeduledger.com/leadership-p...
AAC&U Launches Initiative to Restore Public Trust in Higher Education: https://bit.ly/46JDLqN
And we're live! Announcing the launch of @aacu.org's new Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education (APT) initiative, which I co-lead with Kathryn Enke. You'll be hearing a lot more about APT in the coming months. www.aacu.org/newsroom/aac...
As colleges consider the "Compact," I write @aacu.org, "higher education leaders need to make hard choices that will allow their institutions to survive—but they must remember that their goal is to survive for a purpose, not merely to continue to exist."
www.aacu.org/liberaleduca...
Our statement @aacu.org: "In renewing the call for constructive engagement, AAC&U also strongly opposes any alternative that would erode or eviscerate essential freedoms and promote instability."
Enjoyed speaking with Gianna Jakubowski for this piece in the GW Hatchet! gwhatchet.com/2025/09/15/t...
"To the press alone, chequered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity, over error and oppression;...to the same beneficent source, the US owe much of the lights which conducted them to the rank of a free and independent nation."
Madison later wrote, regarding freedom of the press, that "It is better to leave a few of its noxious branches, to their luxuriant growth, than by pruning them away, to injure the vigor of those yielding the proper fruits."
