Scott Carlson

Washington, D.C.

Senior Writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education

Senior Writer at The Edge (Newsletter)

I write about the business of colleges, sustainability, ideas, etc., at the Chronicle of Higher Ed. Also a biker, judo fighter, beer drinker, gardener.

Articles

How Colleges Have Gone From Mission-Driven to Margin-Obsessed

2 weeks ago | chronicle.com | Scott Carlson

How Colleges Have Gone From Mission-Driven to Margin-Obsessed I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I interview an author about his new book, which identifies four strategies eight colleges have used to try to stay afloat.
From the desk of the editor

4 weeks ago | parkbugle.org | Scott Carlson

By Scott CarlsonKristin Anderson, professor emerita of Art & Design at Augsburg University, planned this past month to give her final free St. Anthony Park neighborhood history talk. Anderson’s talk in May marked her 28th presentation over the past three years. “We’ve also had eight different walking tours” during that time, she also noted. Perhaps then to no surprise, Kristin announced at her May talk: She will hold another nine months of history talks starting in September.
How Cuts to the Federal Work Force Are Compounding a Brutal Job Market for College Grads

1 month ago | chronicle.com | Scott Carlson

How Cuts to the Federal Workforce Are Compounding a Brutal Job Market for College Grads I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I look at how recent cuts to the federal work force are having downstream effects on their regions and on the job plans of recent college graduates.
What Johns Hopkins U. Means to Baltimore

1 month ago | chronicle.com | Scott Carlson

What One University Means to Its City I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I look at the complicated relationship that the Johns Hopkins University has with Baltimore, and what the university means to the future of that city and to American research. A Study in ContrastsIn many ways, Baltimore is a city of contrasts: Black and white, wealthy and poor, highly educated and underserved.
What Johns Hopkins U. Means to Baltimore

1 month ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Scott Carlson

Share A Study in Contrasts In many ways, Baltimore is a city of contrasts: Black and white, wealthy and poor, highly educated and underserved. An early proving ground for redlining and segregation, Baltimore has carved its socioeconomic contrasts into the design of the city.
From the desk of the editor

2 months ago | parkbugle.org | Scott Carlson

By Scott CarlsonAs we leave winter and move into spring, the news cycle seems to be heating up in Bugleland. There is a lot of positive energy building in St. Anthony Park—notably, a new listserv providing SAP residents a forum to comment on national politics and the activities of the Trump administration. In this issue, former Bugle editor Dave Healy writes about the launch of the SAP for Democracy listserv—how it started, why it matters and the niche it fills.
Can Colleges Truly Teach ‘Skills’ to Students?

2 months ago | chronicle.com | Scott Carlson

I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I interview an expert on skills and what they mean in the current conversation about higher education. “We Don’t Know What ‘Skills’ Means”Matthew T. Hora, an associate professor of adult and higher education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has long studied the interaction between education, skills, and the workplace.
Artificial Intelligence’s Challenge to Colleges of Art

2 months ago | chronicle.com | Scott Carlson

I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I explore how AI’s ability to create images is affecting the production of art — and what art colleges are telling students about their craft and their futures. ‘New pathways’Last week, I went to see the 4K restoration of Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece Princess Mononoke in a shabby big-chain IMAX theatre in the Baltimore suburbs.
The Discussion About ‘Skills’ in Higher Ed Is Very Complicated. Here’s Why.

2 months ago | chronicle.com | Scott Carlson

Why the Discussion About ‘Skills’ in Higher Ed Is So Complicated I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I examine what I learned about skills at a recent conference and what it means for the salience of the college degree as interest grows in alternative credentials.
Writing in the age of AI

Feb 5, 2025 | chronicle.com | Christa Dutton |Emma Pettit |Stephanie Lee |Scott Carlson

I’m Scott Carlson, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering higher ed and where it’s going. This week, I interview John Warner about his new book, and what it says about writing, teaching, education, and the workplace, and how they’re all responding to the influence of AI. In a world with ChatGPT, why bother writing? John Warner is a writer who has made a career out of teaching and encouraging other people to write.