Advocates of "institutional neutrality" for universities have the framing wrong. The issue isn't whether uni admins adopt policies on timely issues; it's whether they're open to democratic debate about policy with university stakeholders. "Institutional neutrality" is a proactive no-debate policy.

Where does the claim that the public is has "lost confidence" in higher ed come from? From random public opinion polls (Gallup), not from surveys of university stakeholders--including most employers. The former measure opinion; the latter are based on knowledge. 1/4 www.aacu.org/newsroom/new...

I am struck again and again by how much the language of the anti-Reconstructionists continues to serve as a template for backlash rhetoric.

Where does the claim that the public is has "lost confidence" in higher ed come from? From random public opinion polls (Gallup), not from surveys of university stakeholders--including most employers. The former measure opinion; the latter are based on knowledge. 1/4 www.aacu.org/newsroom/new...

The “free speech champions” are at it again

We are losing our best and brightest. Trump’s immigration policies will have an effect on immigrant scientists like Shirley Meng. She is stepping down as director of Energy Storage Research Alliance and will be relocating to Singapore. 🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...

"[T]he Constitution explicitly empowers Congress to regulate the court. By contrast, [it] says nothing about the court’s claimed authority to regulate Congress." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/o...

The Speaker of the House in Alabama calls on the courts to “overturn the 14th Amendment.” This is the same legislative body, a court found engaged in intentional racial discrimination in drawing voting maps in the Milligan case. x.com/austinpratt_...

ABC News: Elon Musk’s DOGE “blatantly used” race, gender and other protected characteristics to execute the largest mass termination of federal grants in the history of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. abcnews.com/Politics/jud...

BREAKING: Federal Judge Rules to Restore National Endowment for the Humanities Funding In Historic Case This afternoon's ruling declared that the mass termination of more than 1,400 grants by the NEH was “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires, and without legal effect.” https://bit.ly/4wmbFg8

How long until The Atlantic publishes an article about how universities deserve the Canvas hacking because they’ve become “too political”?

ACLS / MLA / AHA / Authors Guild won the NEH case against the mass termination of grants.

How long until The Atlantic publishes an article about how universities deserve the Canvas hacking because they’ve become “too political”?

"Institutional neutrality" advocates are really showing what that made-up and censorious standard is for: censorship. I attended commencement 20+ years ago as a Vanderbilt prof when Chancellor Gee discussed his daughter's pro-choice activism in a speech. Without incident. 1/2

"Institutional neutrality" advocates are really showing what that made-up and censorious standard is for: censorship. I attended commencement 20+ years ago as a Vanderbilt prof when Chancellor Gee discussed his daughter's pro-choice activism in a speech. Without incident. 1/2

This Times story doesn't mention it, so I will: When Ron DeSantis briefly taught high school in his 20s, some students "questioned the focus, and sometimes the accuracy, of his lessons," and mocked "his takes on the Civil War" in a satirical video...for the video yearbook.

Re-upping my piece about how "institutional neutrality" is censorship in disguise. Current manufactured controversy over a commencement speech at the University of Michigan is, I think, one of the most visible and blatant illustrations of that thesis. 1/3 www.chronicle.com/article/inst...

Re-upping my piece about how "institutional neutrality" is censorship in disguise. Current manufactured controversy over a commencement speech at the University of Michigan is, I think, one of the most visible and blatant illustrations of that thesis. 1/3 www.chronicle.com/article/inst...

No notes.

No notes.

📰 Global press freedom has declined to its lowest level since Reporters Without Borders (@rsf.org) began tracking it 25 years ago. Why does this matter & what are questions you can ask about #PressFreedom to spark discussion in the classroom? That + much more in The Sift newsletter ⤵️

“Red states are trying to outdo one another on who can create the most undemocratic, antifaculty legislation.” — Todd Wolfson, AAUP President

University adopts institutional neutral policy. Faculty member (not uni leadership) voices opinion on a timely political topic. University president violates institutional neutrality policy by criticizing faculty member’s statement, thereby commenting on political issues. 1/2

University adopts institutional neutral policy. Faculty member (not uni leadership) voices opinion on a timely political topic. University president violates institutional neutrality policy by criticizing faculty member’s statement, thereby commenting on political issues. 1/2

How did "free speech" become a cudgel to silence dissent? My latest in @bostonreview.bsky.social www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-ri...

Is it possible to learn through AI? Sure. Is it possible to be educated by AI? No. Education is relational, it is a human endeavor.

The real answer isn’t that students decided to shut up. It’s that universities, and a hostile federal government, have expended massive resources trying to ensure they do.

"Grad school teaches us to narrow our idea of who we are and what we do. But we remain whole people. We tell our students that the training we provide isn’t about the content, but habits of mind to enable lifelong learning. It’s true! And [with] public writing we can put that into practice."

The Senate passed the Voting Rights Act renewal in 2006 by a vote of 98-0. The Supreme Court majority gutted it on the grounds that the Justices personally dislike the impact.

Apt examples of the cognitive dissonance that must be breached in public debates about higher ed. The dominant trend in universities since 2020 has been censorship, not viewpoint diversity. Historically, college graduates showed strong identification with the R party, not D. An alternate reality.

My university administrators censored a student who put “environmental justice” and “communities disproportionately affected by climate change” on an Earth Day flyer. I really have no words to express my anger and disappointment anymore

All of this 👇👇👇

Apt examples of the cognitive dissonance that must be breached in public debates about higher ed. The dominant trend in universities since 2020 has been censorship, not viewpoint diversity. Historically, college graduates showed strong identification with the R party, not D. An alternate reality.

In _Campus Misinformation_, I wrote that polemics about "free speech crises" and "viewpoint diversity" on college campuses were features of a misinformation campaign designed to control and regulate free speech in universities, not truly welcome it. 1/ academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...

We are building a movement to #defendhighered & save our democracy. Join Us: Check the AAUP Starter Pack: 👇👇👇 go.bsky.app/3YidJ7k #academicsky

I've been covering curricular censorship at Texas public universities for awhile, and one question I continue to wonder is: Why isn't SACS responding? I've started to answer it @insidehighered.com: www.insidehighered.com/news/governa... #AcademicSky #highered

In _Campus Misinformation_, I wrote that polemics about "free speech crises" and "viewpoint diversity" on college campuses were features of a misinformation campaign designed to control and regulate free speech in universities, not truly welcome it. 1/ academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...

When people talk about self-censorship, they often focus on campus events or classroom discussions. But self-censorship of research is different and more impt. Big difference btw "I don't want to offend others" to "I don't want to speak truth to power" www.chronicle.com/article/near...

Th assault on knowledge is an assault on people, freedom and dignity. It is pervasive and needs both intervention and a counter, visionary approach to how higher ed is situated in the democracy.

The United States now has the most government restrictions on academic freedom of any high-income country. www.chemistryworld.com/news/academi... Raw data from @vdeminstitute.bsky.social —> academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...

It would have been easy to ignore TAH's claim, in The Atlantic, that Mellon "controls" the humanities. But the legitimizing reception that his tale received in prominent media shows that elaborate and specious pretexts for censorship of academic freedom continue to proliferate. shorturl.at/SxymE

It would have been easy to ignore TAH's claim, in The Atlantic, that Mellon "controls" the humanities. But the legitimizing reception that his tale received in prominent media shows that elaborate and specious pretexts for censorship of academic freedom continue to proliferate. shorturl.at/SxymE

You know who doesn’t experience paralyzing fear over discussing free speech in higher ed? The 1000s of students + faculty who constructively do so every day in classes, meetings, campus events.

You know who doesn’t experience paralyzing fear over discussing free speech in higher ed? The 1000s of students + faculty who constructively do so every day in classes, meetings, campus events.

Every university needs a @msroth.bsky.social as president. Wesleyan's head grades Yale's shameful retreat: "That’s not a mission; it’s a defense strategy. And the retreat from public purpose will not enhance trust; it will further erode it." Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/o...

With misinformation on the rise, critical thinking is more important than ever. We asked higher education professionals to share their ideas on better incorporating critical thinking strategies in the classroom. Meet the finalists from Sage's first-ever Critical Thinking Challenge.

My latest: on the state of misinformation about humanities funding and growing rationales for censorship. bradfordvivian.substack.com/p/the-ideolo...

Jay Bhattacharya has ordered that a paper showing the effectiveness of COVID19 vaccines in preventing severe disease and hospitalization be suppressed and hidden. This man has been crying nonstop about political censorship for 6 years. But he’s the one who is actually doing it.

My latest: on the state of misinformation about humanities funding and growing rationales for censorship. bradfordvivian.substack.com/p/the-ideolo...