ACTA is an independent, non-profit organization committed to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at America's colleges and universities
Live Last read · last published · next check
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s “National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards” reflects the reality that public trust in higher education has reached a historic low. The letter calls for colleges and universities to renew their foundational promise to foster academic rigor, protect open inquiry, and advance the national interest. Many of the specific goals it sets…
On this episode of Higher Ed Now Civics Edition, ACTA President Michael Poliakoff speaks with Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Tocqueville Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame as well as the Founding Director of Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government. Professor Muñoz is also the author of the 2022 book, Religious Liberty…
The “Vanderbilt Report” criticizes the field of anthropology as allowing politics to shape its research. How did Carolyn Rouse, a Princeton professor and president of the American Anthropological Association, respond to the criticisms? In this episode of Radio Free Campus, co-hosts Steve McGuire and Justin Garrison analyze Rouse’s masterclass in obfuscation, ad hominem attacks, whataboutism, and…
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect school on the list of LinkedIn’s top 10 colleges. The correct school is the University of Notre Dame. Lehigh University is a selective Pennsylvania institution with a national reputation and a $2 billion endowment. Lehigh does well in college rankings – but usually not as […] The post Here are America’s 10 best…
The Cato Institute recently asked Americans seven basic civics questions as the country turned 250. A majority of Gen Z answered only one of them correctly. In fact, 61% of adults under 30 could not say what the anniversary marks, and 30% volunteered that they had no idea what America’s 250th is about. Two-thirds of Gen Zers could not say why the colonies […] The post Gen Z can’t explain America’s…
Ask a bystander to describe the future of higher education and he’ll probably complain it involves gleaming glass towers full of students learning about artificial intelligence. No doubt he’ll grumble that it’s a waste of money; a better college would teach how to read and write, to do math, to interpret the Constitution, and to understand the west’s cultural heritage. The post New Private…
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni sent a letter to the Bard College Board of Trustees demanding increased transparency surrounding an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence on campus. Read the full letter HERE. The post Transparency at Bard College appeared first on American Council of Trustees and Alumni .
In early 2022 Philanthropy Roundtable published “What Ever Happened to U.S. History 101?,” a discussion of the abysmal failure of U.S. colleges and universities to ensure students’ course schedules include at least a basic survey course on our nation’s history or government. That failure continues today, with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) reporting its What Will […] The post…
On this episode of Higher Ed Now Civics Edition, ACTA President Michael Poliakoff speaks with Michael Auslin, the Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow in Contemporary Asia at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Professor Auslin is the author of "National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America", a dual history of the Declaration of Independence. The new book…
Texas has long agreed that students at all public universities should graduate with the same foundational knowledge, no matter their major. Every college student at a public Texas university has to satisfy 42 prescribed credit hours before graduating. The required hours are meant to ensure all students get a solid background in topics like history, mathematics and […] The post Why Texas students…
