Day: October 8, 2024

Higher Education Shouldn’t Mean Higher Indoctrination

University faculty and staff face one of the oldest problems on campus: what free speech means. Our students are entering an extraordinarily polarized world that encourages them to think only in binary terms: yes, this is right, or no, this is wrong. It is our responsibility to equip them with the critical thinking skills to […]

Read More

The Benefits of Overseas Studies for Undergraduates

For some students, the thought of studying away from home can feel nerve-wracking, but for others, the chance to visit new horizons and learn somewhere new couldn’t be more exciting. Whether it’s an essential part of your course or you plan on living abroad in the future, studying overseas is more than just an academic […]

Read More

Introducing “Social Justice versus Social Science”

If you’ve spent any time in higher education, you’ve probably been told that all white people are inherently racist, police forces should be defunded, and that “diversity, equity, and inclusion”—with a new side of “belonging”—should guide every aspect of modern life. Maybe you’ve even sat through a diversity training where microaggressions are sins and America’s […]

Read More

As Campuses Die, So Might Smiley Faces

A terrified junior who had just switched her major to science stepped into her General Chemistry I Laboratory like a rabbit in a wolf’s den. Handing the finished pre-lab to her teaching assistant, she returned to her place at the lab bench, a myriad of unpleasant grading scenarios racing through her head. Not long later, […]

Read More

Reflections on the Loss of Rigor in College Classes

I graduated from a small state teacher’s college in 1963, majoring in physical sciences and math. While I was not privy to overall grade distributions there, I know that Cs, Ds, and failure were not uncommon. This was simply a fact of life and was understood by all. I later became interested in spatial science, […]

Read More