Higher Ed Must Recommit to Its Enlightenment Roots (opinion) Universities’ own mistakes helped pave the way for government attacks on academic freedom, Emily Chamlee-Wright writes.

American universities were founded to nurture free minds, not compliant subjects.

If higher ed is to remain a cornerstone of liberal democracy, it must reclaim the values that make dissent possible.

My latest in @insidehighered.com:

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

A Return to Racial Quotas in College Admission? (opinion) The Trump administration seems to view “too many” Black and Hispanic students at a selective college as cause for suspicion, David Hawkins writes.

A Return to Racial Quotas in Admissions? By NACAC's David Hawkins: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

A Primer on Commercialization Postdocs (opinion) A commercialization postdoc program might be exactly what you need to launch your career, Chris Smith and Tomer Joshua write.

Read more about the growing number of commercialization #postdoc opportunities available to PhDs in the US in this @insidehighered.com piece out today, coauthored w/ Tomer Joshua. @virginiatech.bsky.social @cornelltech.bsky.social @activatefellows.bsky.social
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

How I Lost Faith in My University’s Mission (opinion) Cynthia Stark explains why she is no longer proud to teach at the University of Utah.

How I Lost Faith in My University's Mission, by Cynthia Stark: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Why I Chose University of Florida, by Santa Ono (opinion) Santa J. Ono explains why he’s pursuing the University of Florida presidency.

Exclusive: Santa Ono explains why he pursued the UF presidency. "I believe in Florida’s vision for higher education. I understand its priorities, and I support them." Full op-ed here: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

After a Closure, Professional Deaths and Rebirths (opinion) Jennifer N. Suriano, Terri Ward and Julienne Cuccio Slichko share insights for other faculty looking for new jobs after a college closure.

Career Advice | Our College Closed: Advice for Navigating Professional Deaths and Rebirths

Jennifer N. Suriano, Terri Ward and Julienne Cuccio Slichko share insights for other faculty looking for new jobs after a college closure. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4iZRNbk

Federal Government Is Now an Unreliable Partner (opinion) Under Linda McMahon’s leadership of ED, colleges should prepare for a student aid policy characterized by inefficiencies and overreach, Daniel A. Collier writes.

My new OpEd for @insidehighered.com is out.

I detail just some of McMahon's policies in her first few weeks and illustrate one key issue with her and the #Trump administration... They're unreliable partners for #HigherEd. Expect fall to be a shit show.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

How Can Deans Support Faculty Well-Being? (opinion) Support for faculty well-being should be an expectation of academic leadership, Richard Badenhausen writes.

How can deans support faculty well-being? By Richard Badenhausen: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

🚨 Breaking News | @usedgov.bsky.social to Lay Off Half of Staff

Ahead of the announcement, the department told staff that DC offices would be closed on Wednesday and reopen Thursday for “security reasons.” #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4ik7zxp

The attempt to destroy Columbia (opinion) The Trump administration has the symbolic fight it wants, Brian Rosenberg writes.

"So: Let’s destroy it to prove that we can." Brian Rosenberg's new essay on "The Attempt to Destroy Columbia": www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

How to support faculty during the chaos (opinion) Beth Mitchneck and Stephanie A. Goodwin suggest some simple ways academic administrators can support faculty whose research and teaching are under threat.

Beth Mitchneck and Stephanie A. Goodwin offer ideas for relatively simple ways academic administrators can tangibly support faculty whose research and teaching are being deterred: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Final "Intellectual Affairs" column by Scott McLemee (opinion) In his final “Intellectual Affairs” column, Scott McLemee looks back at 20 years of writing about the world of scholarly books and ideas.

For 20 years, Scott McLemee has penned the Intellectual Affairs column for Inside Higher Ed, exploring the world of books and ideas. As he retires from the column today, take a look back at some pages from this 'intellectual vagabond's' notebook: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Public higher ed should prepare for Medicaid cuts (opinion) Cuts to Medicaid spending could prove to be the most devastating threat to the sector yet, F. King Alexander and Stephen Katsinas write.

With House Republicans eyeing cuts to Medicaid, public higher ed should be worried, F. King Alexander and Stephan Katsinas write. They dig into the data here: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Closing a college with dignity, part 1 (opinion) In part one of a three-part series, the former senior leadership team of Cabrini University explains the decision to close and what came after.

This is a really thoughtful first piece in a series from the leadership of Cabrini University, which closed with more than a year's notice. It's a must read for many college leaders.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

On affirmative action, Asian Americans got played (opinion) Let’s not get played again, OiYan Poon and Janelle Wong write.

Good discussion by @oiyanpoon.bsky.social & @janellewong.bsky.social about the racist ploy to use Asian American students & families to threaten colleges over admissions, diversity, & who is framed as ‘deserving’ of attending highly rejective institutions. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Why are campuses quiet as democracy is in crisis? (opinion) The stakes are too high for higher ed to stay out of the fray, Austin Sarat writes.

Opinion | Why Are Campuses Quiet and College Leaders Silent When U.S. Democracy Is in Crisis?

The stakes are too high for higher ed to stay out of the fray, Austin Sarat writes. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/3X4h3Ew

If we are to truly serve our students regardless of race, and if—as the department’s letter states—we have to put an end to even the subtle ways racial preferences and privileges are attached to seemingly race-blind policies, then watch out. Most campuses have a lot of work to do, and much of it is not going to be to the liking of those who believe that it is DEI programs that make an otherwise level playing field an unfair one.

For over 20 years, I've been at schools affiliated w the Council of Independent Colleges; in my experience, CIC has been an unflinching advocate for higher education. So I'm unsurprised, but still heartened, to see this from CIC president Marjorie Hass today. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Trump administration threatens to rescind federal funds over DEI In a sweeping and unprecedented letter issued over the weekend, the Office for Civil Rights declared race-based scholarships, cultural centers and even graduation ceremonies illegal.

Ed Department: DEI Violates Civil Rights Law

In a sweeping and unprecedented letter issued over the weekend, the Office for Civil Rights declared race-based scholarships, cultural centers and even graduation ceremonies illegal. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4hCrabL

Why the NIH cuts are so wrong (opinion) Christopher Newfield writes that higher ed has a better counternarrative to share.

By the always insightful Christopher Newfield--
#AcademicSky @hopkinspress.bsky.social

We must protect federal science partnership (opinion) The U.S. university-federal partnership is a miracle for global scientific progress. It must be protected, Mary Sue Coleman writes.

Opinion | ‘What’s Going to Happen to Science?’

The U.S. university-federal partnership is a miracle for global scientific progress. It must be protected, Mary Sue Coleman writes. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4gGndBv

"By tacking immediately to DEI in the wake of a tragedy, he seeks to create an association in the minds of Americans: People of color are underqualified and incompetent. As a woman of color who earned a Ph.D. and is also the president of a university, I know these narratives are baseless."

"In our current political climate, data inclusion has become particularly urgent as marginalized communities face unprecedented attacks," Chad M. Topaz and Tyrone Bass write.

College leaders in the foxhole (opinion) Holden Thorp writes that the public response from college presidents to the Trump administration’s orders has been quiet so far—but he expects that to change.

It's unlikely (and probably inadvisable) for college leaders will be part of the resistance. But they can provide wartime leadership for their campuses. My piece in @insidehighered.com www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

A troubling moment for public higher ed (opinion) Jay Hartzell’s planned move from the UT Austin presidency to Southern Methodist demands attention from all who care about public higher ed, Michael S. Harris writes.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about the current state of public higher education and the role of private universities like SMU. Put down some thoughts down that @insidehighered.com published today.

Benjamin Rifkin calls for reframing class participation as "class engagement."

A crisis of trust in the classroom (opinion) The work of teaching has never been harder, Seth C. Bruggeman writes.

Highly recommend this reflective essay from Temple Prof. Seth Bruggeman. It captures the central challenge of teaching today in a system that over time has become entirely transactional, and then suddenly technology that could satisfy the transaction arrived. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

🚨 Breaking News | Major Error Skewed Freshmen Enrollment Data

Freshmen enrollment did not decline this fall, as previously reported in the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s annual enrollment report in October. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky #BreakingNews bit.ly/4heePKl

Seems like a good time to share this views essay published yesterday by Erin O’Callaghan and Anne Kirkner: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

A plain orange background with the 'Inside Higher Ed' logo in the upper left corner with 'Breaking News' in white text.

🚨 Breaking News | Biden Scraps Debt Relief Plans

The Education Department said it's withdrawing the plans in order to focus on helping at-risk borrowers return to repayment successfully. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/3P5RTRu

Why McMahon isn’t DeVos 2.0 (opinion) Daniel A. Collier writes that Linda McMahon’s approach as secretary of education may not mirror that of Betsy DeVos.

As I come to tenure, I'm doing more public scholarship.

I wrote an OpEd on Linda #McMahon.
Linda is much different than DeVos with a skill set developed through experience running the WWE and political relevance tied only to Trump.

#highered #acadmicsky

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...