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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 survey, Losing 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.
Katherine Knott
Inside Higher Ed
Excerpt: If colleges and universities want to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), they’ll have to certify that they don’t operate any diversity, equity, inclusion or accessibility programs that violate federal antidiscrimination laws, under a new NIH policy announced Monday.
The change appears to codify parts of President Donald Trump’s executive orders that banned funding for DEI programs and builds on the strategy to leverage colleges’ research funding to compel certain behaviors. But the new policy goes even further than the president’s directives, barring colleges from boycotting Israel or Israeli businesses if they want to receive NIH grants.
FIRE
Excerpt: FIRE today filed a "friend of the court" brief in support of the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers in their lawsuit against the Department of Justice and other federal agencies. FIRE argues that the Trump administration's actions against Columbia University are unlawful and unconstitutional attacks on freedom of expression, freedom of association, and academic freedom. The brief's summary of argument follows.
J. D. Tuccille
Reason
Excerpt: Given the censorious conduct of colleges and universities in recent years, it takes a lot to get free speech advocates to treat them as aggrieved parties. But the Trump administration has accomplished that by using the power of the state to coerce changes in campus political climates, disciplinary procedures, and hiring practices. Harvard University is digging in its heels and suing the federal government in response.
But if institutions of higher learning really want to assert their independence, they should emulate a school with a lower profile and fewer resources that won its freedom by cutting ties with the government decades ago: They should follow the example of Hillsdale College.
