@chrismarsicano.com
Davidson College professor | Director, College Crisis Initiative (C2i)| Studies #highered #edpolitics & #edpolicy | PhD, Vanderbilt | MPP, Duke | Whatever we used to call tweets ≠ Endorsements
The (Wild)cat is out of the bag! The Institute for Public Good at Davidson College won a $4M FIPSE grant - the largest competitive federal grant in the College’s history - to create a nationwide network of civil discourse programs at 100 colleges and universities. www.davidson.edu/news/2026/01...
One of the greatest moments in college football history. I think Sam Snideman has a screenshot. It was glorious.
Time for another fundraiser.
This weekend, I will donate $0.50 to @boltsmag.org AND @mississippifreepress.org for EACH of:
- every new Bluesky follower I get
- every new Bluesky follower THEY get
- everyone who reposts this post
Repost this, follow me, and follow both of them = I donate $4 total.
I was terrifyingly bad at this…
And it probably would’ve eventually been challenged in court on first amendment grounds.
Grassley, not Ernst. ;)
And I know *you* know how all this works, but there are many who are going to chalk this win up to Michael Roth.
Yes - shifting the count to all students AND making them tuition-paying students gives schools wiggle room. Schools can shift from partial aid to full aid to game the tax. Bad for middle class, not for colleges.
Some schools doing this already: lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/20...
Also fair to say that schools in red and purple states helped make this happen. Boston’s economy is just fine without BU, hard to make the case that Grinnell, IA, Davidson, NC, and McPherson, KS would be fine without their namesake colleges being financial healthy.
Let’s just say that Berea is a good institutional citizen and had no problem lending a hand to the schools you’ve mentioned and others.
And some schools that aren’t Ivy Plus but really want to be angered both legislators AND fellow schools.
If you guys want all the lobbying stories… I have them.
The Ivies weren’t the ones who made the biggest differences. It was the small colleges coalition, Berea, and Hillsdale.
Primarying Tillis may be a lot harder than the President realizes. www.theassemblync.com/politics/sen...
Well... I think it is clear the President is losing patience with Israel and Iran.
www.wsj.com/video/trump-...
When you visit, let me know! We’re about to announce some big things that I think might be of interest to a budding political scientist / historian!
There is still time for a course correction for your son to come to Davidson! No cuts here (so far).
Life here is pretty great!
This is the face of a man thinking “WTF is this nonsense?!”
One of my favorite places when we lived there. Fantastic stuff.
I understand the choice of Juve for a White House visit:
- Iconic team with storied history.
- The only one playing in DC with American players.
- The other teams playing in DC are mostly from the Middle East, which would've presented a messaging challenge.
But still, what an odd conversation.
I don't think I've ever felt sorry for Juventus before, but I do now. Goodness. This was more than "a bit weird."
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
CC: @marcellograz.bsky.social
And… ordered.
When does book club begin?
The current proposal in the Big Beautiful Bill misses its elite, lefty targets and hits students instead. Lawmakers should not tax financial aid; instead, Congress should build incentives that put students first.
#HigherEd #EndowmentTax #FinancialAid
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
6/END
We shouldn't tax endowments; but if we're going to, let's at least do it right.
Want to make college more affordable? Incentive spending on scholarships.
Tax endowments but offer dollar-for-dollar tax credits for institutional financial aid. Reward schools for making education affordable.
5/6
My research with CJ Ryan (Indiana), Rylie Martin (Duke), and Ann Bernhardt (Texas A&M) shows some schools have already cut aid or raised tuition due to an existing tax. A 10x increase will only make things worse.
📄 Full paper: journals.upress.ufl.edu/ftr/article/...
4/6
Endowments aren’t vaults of unused cash. They generate earnings that fund financial aid. When you tax endowment income, you cut the money available to low- and middle-income students. It’s not a tax on institutions—it’s a tax on students.
3/6
Sure, elite universities with "woke" reputations like Harvard and Penn would pay more in taxes. But so would Berry College in Georgia and McPherson College in Kansas —small schools using endowments to fund scholarships and student jobs. This tax hits the little guy, not just the Ivy League.
2/6
Congress is proposing a HUGE increase in the tax on college endowments—up to 21%—to punish elite universities and fund tax cuts.
But the people who’ll really pay the price?
Students.
Here’s my new OpEd with CJ Ryan on the Endowment Tax in the KC Star: www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
1/6 🧵
Conservatism isn't selective taxation on goods already purchased. That's what the new EV levy would be. A great piece from @mattbaidc.bsky.social:
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Fantastic piece showing how we got the extraordinary national debt we have today. TL;DR version: Bush cut taxes and funded two wars, Obama ended neither the tax cuts nor the wars; Trump gave out stimulus checks and tax cuts. Biden paid for infrastructure. www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
Oh you’d be all about it. Tennessee was a powerhouse state back in the day. May still be. Could be a good activity for your kids when they hit school age!
