The ungated version is here. Intro: “Universities are protesting the Trump administration’s plan to limit the overhead, also known as indirect costs, covered by federal research grants. They argue this change violates a long-standing post-World War II agreement, rooted in Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report “Science, The Endless Frontier.” That agreement was simple: The federal government would...
New book on cancelled professors, with a chapter by yours truly, just released.
My chapter is titled “I Called an Academic Conference a ‘Woke Joke’ and Ignited a Firestorm.”
Only a third of college presidents think tenure’s pros outweigh the cons!
From a survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed:
Also note that half said their institution has too many academic programs and some need to close.
My op-ed on student debt just published by RealClearEducation
The title is How to Resolve the Student Loan Debt Crisis Without a Bailout, here is the first paragraph: Under the Biden administration, student loan debt was treated as an urgent national crisis, with sweeping forgiveness proposals dominating headlines. Now, under Trump, the issue has largely faded from the political landscape—raising an important question: Was it ever a crisis to begin with...
Just won the first battle in my fight against DEI at NC State
Two weeks ago, I filed a complaint citing four violations of the UNC System’s policies on institutional neutrality and the ban on compelled speech. The university has now conceded on all four three out of four counts—but they’re saying as little as possible about it. Violation 1: Promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in university and college strategic plans This is by far the most...
“Universities, colleges took prestige and public support for granted. Now they are paying the price”
From Megan McArdle: “Since you know that, let me make a less obvious and probably less welcome point: The left, not the right, picked this fight. Too many institutions set themselves up as the “Resistance” to Trump and tried to make a lot of mainstream political opinions anathematic, while expecting to be protected from backlash by principles such as academic freedom that they were no...
U Penn becomes sixth Ivy League school to require SAT/ACT
That’s six out of eight now – 75%. Higher education tends to be highly emulative. How long before other universities and colleges abandon their test-optional policies altogether? This is also a significant win for those concerned about discrimination against Asians in college admissions. Without standardized test scores from all applicants, proving discrimination becomes nearly...
Fighting for Women’s Sports: My Title IX Complaint Against NC State
I’m not your typical Republican. I’m a lifelong atheist who has supported same-sex marriage for nearly four decades. Because of that, I have no issue with trans people. If a guy experiences gender dysphoria and finds that wearing makeup and a dress helps, hey, more power to him (or her, depending on your perspective). However, I do take issue when that same guy competes in women’s sports. My wife...
2025 Northwestern Main and Advanced Causal Inference Workshops
We are excited to be holding our 14th annual workshop on Research Design for Causal Inference at Northwestern Law School in Chicago, IL. We invite you to attend. Main Workshop: Monday – Friday, July 28 – August 1, 2025 Advanced Workshop: Sunday – Wednesday, August 3-6, 2025 What’s special about these workshops are the world-class speakers, who are experts...
I’ve declared war on DEI at NC State
My opening salvo is an op-ed in National Review (non-paywalled link), where I outline how NC State is violating UNC System Board of Governors policies on institutional neutrality and compelled speech. Enacted in 2023, these policies marked a significant victory for intellectual freedom in North Carolina’s public universities. The institutional neutrality policy states that no public university...