Eboo Patel

2 weeks ago | philanthropy.com | Eboo Patel

I almost cried after reading a recent article about how universities are canceling bridge programs that help first-generation students prepare for college. The story noted that schools are afraid such programs might put them in the crosshairs of the authoritarians in Washington, D.C., intent on destroying anything associated with diversity. I’ve taught in bridge programs and have been inspired by the students who are eager to learn and give back to their communities.

1 month ago | persuasion.community | Eboo Patel

This piece is part of a series, generously made possible by the support of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, on pluralism and dialogue in education. In 2020, Steven Wilson, former education adviser to the governor of Massachusetts, was condemned as racist and fired from his job for writing an essay on the educational philosophy underlying the network of charter schools he founded.

1 month ago | philanthropy.com | Eboo Patel

A few weeks ago, Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, made an important political statement by wearing a Harvard T-shirt to a postgame news conference. When asked if the shirt was about the Trump administration’s threats against the university, Kerr lauded Harvard for “standing up to the bully” and spoke about his support for both academic freedom and the independence of civic institutions.

2 months ago | philanthropy.com | Eboo Patel

While I’m a Muslim, I am fond of citing Catholic philosophers and theologians on pluralism. I quote Father John Courtney Murray, a mid-20th-century Jesuit leader, and his definition of pluralist civilization as a society where people of diverse identities and divergent ideologies live and talk together. I often talk about Father Ted Hesburgh’s description of the University of Notre Dame, the institution he led for 35 years, as a “lighthouse and a crossroads,” a model for all campuses.

2 months ago | philanthropy.com | Eboo Patel

Last week, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker showed what toughness looks like in an era when fighting for a just society is a nonstop endurance test. Booker, one of only 14 African Americans to ever serve in the Senate, spoke against Trump administration policies for more than 25 hours straight without a bathroom break, surpassing Senator Strom Thurmond’s previous record — in that case for a speech opposing civil rights legislation.