Academic freedom, philanthropy, and news from all over

Including a Shortstack with DEI fights, NCAA news, and some "Right-Wing" Curricular Problems

A New Center to Shore Up Academic Freedom

Just last week the American Association of University Professors announced the creation of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, with a grant of more than $1.5 million from the Mellon Foundation. It is either weeks late or not a minute too soon, given “the recent surge of political and ideological attacks on American higher education” that the AAUP cites in its press release. The AAUP says it “will bring together higher education and academic freedom experts over the course of the next two years to develop a comprehensive understanding of the scope and nature of political interference in higher education and develop means of countering this assault.” As Jennifer Schuessler writes in The New York Times, “Academic freedom is a bedrock of the modern American university. And lately, it seems to be coming under fire from all directions.” She singles out Governor Ron DeSantis, of Florida, for spearheading laws “restricting what can be taught” and “efforts to reshape whole institutions.” But she also notes “a very different threat,” which she calls a “prevailing progressive orthodoxy [that] has created a climate of self-censorship and fear that stifles open inquiry.” Please see our Further Reading list below for a comprehensive examination of the major challenges to academic freedom.

Sources

AAUP Starting Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom (Inside Higher Ed)
The Fight Over Academic Freedom (New York Times)

Further Reading

The Future of Academic Freedom (New Yorker)
The Universities That Don’t Understand Academic Freedom (The Atlantic)
Harvard Last in Free Speech? Don’t Trust FIRE’s Rankings. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
For Universities Facing Lawsuits Over Antisemitism, First Amendment Offers Uncertain Defense (New York Sun)
Prof. Danielle Allen (Harvard) on Diversity and Academic Freedom (reason)
Documentary Fuels Academic Freedom Debates (Inside Higher Ed)
Penn faculty say outside groups are threatening its academic freedom (Higher Ed Dive)
US faculty promise fight to protect academic freedom (Times Higher Education)
I Led Harvard Medical School. With Gay’s Resignation, the Corporation Must Rethink Its Approach to Governance. (Harvard Crimson)
How to Create a Campus Free-Expression Statement (The Martin Center)

Donor Dynamics: Navigating Higher Education Philanthropy

In the philanthropic world, universities wrestle with the same demand as in other realms:  meeting their own goals while satisfying donor expectations. Middlebury College was reminded of that truth last August when former Vermont governor Jim Douglas sued the university for removing the name of another former governor, John Mead, who had donated $75,000 in 1914 to build a chapel on the campus in honor of his family but who also was a believer in eugenics. The case is slated to go to trial on June 14. Meanwhile, former UNC-Chapel Hill dean Susan King’s recent disclosure in The Chronicle of Philanthropy exposed the tension between academic freedom and donor influence, exemplified by donor Walter Hussman Jr.’s objections to Nikole Hannah-Jones’s appointment. Harvard faced a barrage of challenges in 2023, from ethical dilemmas to legal setbacks and donor backlash due to anti-Semitic incidents; now the university is tackling its tarnished image by restructuring and building philanthropic partnerships. In a notable financial win, Amherst College’s endowment defied expectations, surpassing Ivy League giants like Harvard and Yale, highlighting Amherst’s strategic investment prowess, prompting a reevaluation of higher education norms. Campuses rejoiced as endowments surged by 29.6 percent in fiscal year 2023, fueled by savvy investments and optimism, while higher education nets a near-record $37.5 billion from organizations, despite a dip in personal giving from alumni and nonalumni.

Sources
Donor Intent Watch: How Much Power do Higher Education Donors Have? (Philanthropy Roundtable)
Vermont Superior Court denies motion to dismiss Mead lawsuit (Middlebury Campus) 
Harvard Has a Brand Problem. Here’s How to Fix It. (The Atlantic) 
The Small University Endowment That Is Beating the Ivy League (Wall Street Journal)
College Endowment Returns Ticked Up in Fiscal Year 2023 (Inside Higher Ed)

Further Reading
How the value of the 20 largest college endowments changed last year (Higher Ed Dive)
$100M gift to UNCF to fund pooled endowment, including for 5 Georgia HBCUs (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
The Giving Legacies of Four Modern-Day Presidents (Philanthropy Roundtable)
Endowment returns averaged 7.7% in fiscal 2023  (Higher Ed Dive) 
College endowments see big returns thanks to stock market gains  (Marketplace)
College Endowments Reverse Their Once-Flagging Returns (Chronicle of Higher Education)
The Giving Legacies of Four Modern-Day Presidents (Philanthropy Roundtable)

ShortStack:  Important News From All Over--And the Recent Past

DEI Drives Campus Antisemitism (Wall Street Journal) 
The Usual Grotesques (City Journal)
NCAA president wants colleges to directly pay some student athletes  (NBC News) 
The Problem Isn’t Cancel Culture (Commentary)
The Single Biggest Fix for Inequality at Elite Colleges (The Atlantic)
Where Will the Right-Wing War on Curricula Go Next? (Chronicle of Higher Education)
The Microaggression Farce (City Journal)
The Closure of an Overseas Campus Raises Fresh Concerns About the Future of International Ed (Chronicle of Higher Education)
2021’s Top-Paid Private-College President Received a Record Payout (Chronicle of Higher Education)