David Kane is the former Preceptor in Statistical Methods and Mathematics in the Department of Government at Harvard University.
Secretary Peter Hegseth’s first order to the Department of Defense promised “a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness.” To the extent that the Service Academies—West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy—take this directive seriously, they should end athletic admissions. Such a move would change […]
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Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Grok, ChatGPT, Claude, et cetera will radically change student assignments and evaluation in college classes. I have already explained how AI means that students can no longer be forced to do the reading. How will college professors change in response? Consider some likely approaches. They can ignore AI because […]
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In many dimensions, the United States military is just as committed to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) as any Ivy League university. Cully Stimson, writing in the Daily Signal, provides an interesting discussion of the Students for Fair Admissions’s (SFFA) case against the United States Naval Academy (USNA). SFFA, the plaintive in last year’s Supreme […]
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The University of Austin (UATX) differs from other elite universities in several ways. Yet, on many of those dimensions, UATX is similar to other individual schools. The University of Chicago is just as committed to free expression. Caltech is just as dismissive of intercollegiate athletics. UATX’s Polaris Project, on the other hand, is like nothing […]
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I have always been contemptuous of professors who complain that their students aren’t doing the readings. It is easy to ensure that your students do the reading. Just cold-call them and ask basic questions about the content. My students read the first book of Plato’s Republic last week. Here are some of the questions I asked: […]
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The continuing changes at the New College of Florida (NCF) have involved the concept of techne. It’s coursework that promises to connect students to real-world opportunities. What might techne mean, either at NCF or elsewhere? Recall this claim from my suggestion for the NCF Mission Statement: “No college does more to increase your odds of getting […]
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The revitalization of institutions like the New College of Florida (NCF) provides us with an opportunity to step back and consider the purpose of elite colleges—their telos. NCF has provided a draft mission statement. However, outside some welcome references to a classical liberal arts education, it lacks all specifics. There is nothing measurable, no metric […]
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Editor’s Note: David Randall’s Curriculum of Liberty illuminates the pressing demand for American higher education to equip students with essential knowledge, character, and tools needed to confront contemporary challenges, revitalize the American republic, and safeguard Western heritage alongside the principles of free inquiry. This essay draws inspiration from his groundbreaking work and marks the inaugural […]
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