Higher Ed Now

Grateful American Foundation President David Bruce Smith and ACTA President Dr. Michael Poliakoff join Higher Ed Now to examine how and why American history is disappearing from school curricula.

David Bruce Smith talks about his organization’s efforts to increase interest in American history for K-12 students. Dr. Poliakoff supplements this work at the college level with ACTA’s latest report, No U.S. History?, which found that even history majors in college are rarely required to take a course dedicated to American history. Both experts agree that improving teacher education may be the key to reigniting interest in our country’s story.

Concerned donors, alumni, trustees, and comedy fans won’t want to miss the second half of Higher Ed Now’s conversation with FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff. Listeners will hear the inside scoop on Can We Take a Joke?, a new feature-length documentary that takes a humorous look at campus speech issues as they relate to comedy and satire. Mr. Lukianoff also shares his insights into freedom of association cases and the significance of the Chicago Principles on Free Expression.

After a tumultuous year for free speech on campus, Higher Ed Now asks Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) to share his impression on campus speech controversies. From protests to microaggressions, he describes the campus culture that fosters censorship and threatens academic freedom and civil liberties for students and faculty. 

What should we do about intolerance on college campuses? McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Robert George rejoins Higher Ed Now to continue a discussion about viewpoint diversity and the role of colleges and universities play in society. Professor George describes his unlikely friendship with Professor Cornel West and explains how a liberal education can improve the quality of campus and civil discourse.

What’s happening on college campuses? The first recipient of ACTA’s Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education, Professor Robert P. George, shares his frontline accounts of campus illiberalism and the deterioration of discourse and intellectual engagement at colleges and universities.

What kind of diversity should colleges and universities require? Hamilton College's new diversity requirement got it wrong. ACTA Vice President of Policy Michael Poliakoff tells the story of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, a model for enriching intellectual diversity. This tale of donor intent and academic excellence explains the difference between the Institute's mission and Hamilton College's lazy version of diversity. 

Are you planning on donating to your alma mater? Before you write that generous check, you should be sure that your donation is going to support quality, freedom, and accountability. ACTA Vice President of Development Dr. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill explains the nuances of donor intent and alumni giving. She also describes different methods of supporting academe through programs that focus on academic excellence and intellectual diversity. 

Wherefore art thou Shakespeare? As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death we examine ACTA's report, The Unkindest Cut: Shakespeare in Exile 2015. This report revealed that one of the most influential writers in the English language is no longer revered in the halls of America's colleges and universities. 

Ten percent of college graduates think Judge Judy sits on the Supreme Court! ACTA continues its podcast with an examination into this brewing crisis in civic education. ACTA VP of Policy Michael Poliakoff explains how higher education has shirked its responsibility to students and taxpayers by fostering climates of civic illiteracy.