Sian Leah Beilock, Dartmouth President
Office of the President
Excerpt: People on and off campus are asking what I think about the battle between higher education and the federal government. A binary framework has emerged—fight or flight—that, I worry, means higher-education institutions aren’t reflecting on what we could do better to further our standing as a trusted beacon for knowledge and truth.
I understand that some see any sort of self-reflection at this moment—anything less than all-out battle—as surrender. I disagree. Given the long, successful partnership America’s research universities have had with the federal government, we owe it to our country to look for ways to move forward, and for solutions that protect our fierce independence as institutions of higher education while improving who we are and what we offer.
Jennifer Schuessler and Vimal Patel
New York Times
Excerpt: The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an increasingly prominent free-speech organization, has long been known as a fierce opponent of campus political correctness. Since its founding in 1999, it has been celebrated for defending conservatives and other dissidents from the prevailing liberal culture at America’s universities.
William C. Mao and Veronica H. Paulus
Harvard Crimson
Excerpt: A Harvard administrator told two professors on Tuesday that a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their office windows would be taken down by this Saturday, describing it as a violation of University-wide rules on using campus space.
Bence P. Ölveczky and Mansi Srivastava, professors of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, posted large block letters in their windows spelling out “Black Lives Matter” in 2020 as protests broke out nationwide over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Since then, the letters have faced out from the Northwest Science Building, where their labs are located.
Allen Mendenhall and Daniel Sutter
City Journal
Excerpt: Business schools were once temples of market wisdom, teaching future executives how profits fuel prosperity and voluntary exchange lifts societies out of poverty. Yet our research suggests that these institutions today would rather pursue social change, preaching progressive doctrines with the zeal of converts.
In business schools across the globe, this transformation is well underway. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives have proliferated. Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have become regular fixtures.