The Trump Administration has proposed a much-needed reform of how we reimburse so-called “overhead expenses” associated with federal research grants made by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is reasoned that research activity financed by the Feds involves not only paying researchers, buying lab equipment, and some travel but also increases needed administrative oversight, […]| Minding The Campus
The racial and gender ideologues who infiltrated and, at times, overtook American university life in the second and third decades of this century are rightly being criticized for distracting our institutions from their core mission of advancing knowledge. As a result, “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) is now in full retreat. But the Andrew W. […]| Minding The Campus
James Moore’s recent epistle in this space, “The Rise of the Pseudo Faculty,” has jolted my aging brain to suggest an economist’s view on why college and university faculty have lost clout in their institutions over time. But first, a little history. If you asked a professor on an American campus 100 years ago, “Are […]| Minding The Campus
Organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church have catechisms, a list of beliefs to which all members are expected to subscribe. Interestingly, the 1848 Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels was really an extension of a slightly earlier Communist catechism authored by Engels. As far leftist extremists increasingly took over college campuses over […]| Minding The Campus
An extraordinary scholar and polymath, Amy Wax, has been formally sanctioned by the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), although not fired, as many of her detractors attempted to do. Professor Wax has earned degrees from Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and Columbia, including an M.D. in neurology, in addition to her law degree. She has argued 15 cases […]| Minding The Campus
Albright College is a traditional liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania, that is in deep financial trouble. Reading itself is an old industrial town with fewer people today than a century ago, with relatively low average incomes. Pennsylvania has had a number of college mergers and consolidations, including a number of public regional universities. Like […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This essay is the second installment of a two-part series. You can read Part 1 here. Yesterday’s assessment of Jay Bhattacharya’s appointment as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was written before I had seen two excellent weekend Wall Street Journal stories on the Trump appointee. In a news story by Liz […]| Minding The Campus
Editor’s Note: This essay is the first installment of a two-part series. You can read Part 2 here. Probably the most important federal funder of traditional advanced research is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). President-Elect Trump has appointed a remarkable man to head that key branch of the federal government, Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., and Ph.D. […]| Minding The Campus
For decades, international testing data have shown that the United States, for all its leadership in technological innovation and economic success, has been, at best, so-so in teaching fundamental knowledge to young Americans. Moreover, the situation appears to have worsened, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has not recovered to anemic pre-pandemic levels since. […]| Minding The Campus