James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

4 days ago | jamesgmartin.center | Bruce Gilley

It takes me about eight minutes to walk across the campus of the New College of Florida, where I just concluded a year as a visiting professor. There are rare sightings of students, a grand total of 800, who dart in and out from under the palm trees like white ibises. The clock bell on the astroturf in front of the library can be heard from the waterfront all the way to the student dorms.

1 week ago | jamesgmartin.center | Zev van Zanten

Ever since that fateful day in November 2022 when OpenAI released ChatGPT, hardly a week has gone by in which AI hasn’t been in the news. Much of this coverage concerns fears of AI-perpetuated labor-market disruption and mass unemployment. A look at the theory underpinning these fears can help us understand what may happen as AI’s reach increases. More importantly, it can help us understand AI’s threat to education and what colleges can do to turn this threat into an opportunity.

1 week ago | jamesgmartin.center | Adam Ellwanger

In 2023, the Supreme Court rendered a 6-3 decision that effectively outlawed affirmative-action policies in college admissions, finding in favor of groups representing qualified students whose applications were rejected at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. But, as he often does, Chief Justice John Roberts left a loophole. It allows colleges to continue their discriminatory admissions policies if they desire, and Roberts made sure to point at it in the decision.

2 weeks ago | jamesgmartin.center | George Leef

At one time, most Americans (and virtually all academics) would have agreed with the famous saying, often attributed to Voltaire, “While I disagree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Over the last several decades, that has dramatically changed. Many academics now seem to embrace the opposite view—something like, “Since I disagree with what you say, I will do everything possible to silence you.”Is that an exaggeration?

3 weeks ago | jamesgmartin.center | Frederick M. Hess

Last spring, I coauthored an AEI report examining the taxpayer-subsidized Truman Scholarship program, founded in 1975 to “aspiring leaders” during their college years and encourage “their commitments to careers in public service.” We found an overwhelming left-wing bias. Among the fellows selected between 2021 and 2023, just six of 182 winners expressed interest in even a single conservative issue.