A Letter from ACTA President Michael Poliakoff

July 31, 2024 2 min read

Dear ACTA friend,

Since its founding, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has advocated for strengthening civic education at America’s colleges and universities. Our democratic republic depends on an educated citizenry—the rising generation must have a robust understanding of our nation’s history and system of government.

Our country is facing a civic knowledge crisis, and with it, a crisis of civic order. ACTA’s recent surveyLosing America’s Memory 2.0, has brought to light some startling findings about the state of civic literacy among college students. Most students are unable to identify the speaker of the House of Representatives, term lengths for members of Congress, or the branch of government with the power to declare war.

It is unconscionable that so many students graduate college today without understanding their own system of government, especially in an age of rising polarization, falling social trust, increasing political violence, and decreasing feelings of political efficacy.  

Our survey has drawn national media attention. In an article covering our findings, the New York Post wrote, “[colleges and universities] have abdicated the responsibility to inculcate even the most basic knowledge required to be an informed and engaged citizen.” On July 17, ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom, Steven McGuire, was interviewed by Scripps News about the survey’s findings and the urgent need for universities to institute a required course in American history and government.

Over the next two years, leading up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are rolling out a series of programs to urge colleges and universities to strengthen civic education. I encourage you to explore our new webpage dedicated to civic literacy, which can be found here, and I look forward to updating you on our work.

Thank you for your support. Together, we can ensure that the next generation is equipped to carry forward the values that define our great nation.

Warm regards,

Michael Poliakoff

President

ACTA is an independent, non-profit organization committed to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at America’s colleges and universities.


Leave a comment


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

‘Fear and intimidation’ hurt campus free speech – survey

December 05, 2024 1 min read

Jack Grove
Times Higher Education

Excerpt: More than three-quarters of university staff feel academic freedom of speech is more restricted in their country than it was 10 years ago, a major survey has found.

This sense that free speech on campus has been chilled is particularly strong in the US, where 83 per cent of respondents felt this was the case, and in psychology (80 per cent) and clinical health (89 per cent), where sex and gender issues loom large.
Read More
A Year After the First Antisemitism Hearing, What’s Become of the Presidents Who Testified?

December 05, 2024 1 min read

Josh Moody
Inside Higher Ed

Excerpt: Last Dec. 5, the presidents of three leading universities stepped before Congress for a hearing on campus antisemitism that was widely criticized when they failed to offer forthright responses on whether hypothetical calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their institutions’ policies. Those three presidents—representing Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—were followed by four others in two separate hearings in April and May as pro-Palestinian student protests swept campuses across the nation last spring.

Of the seven campus leaders who testified, only two remain on the job (though one was already on the way out). Here’s a look at where all seven leaders are today.
Read More
Partisan Professors

December 04, 2024 1 min read

Roger Pielke Jr.
American Enterprise Institute

Faculty in U.S. universities overwhelmingly hold views on the political left. That probably won’t be news to most THB readers. Today’s post documents just how extreme today’s left-leaning ideological uniformity has become among professors and shows that in the past, across disciplines faculty were much more politically diverse.
Read More