AKA Review - 03.21.2025

From The New York Times
The Authoritarian Endgame on Higher Education
By the Editorial Board of The New York Times

The White House is targeting precisely those facets of American higher-education that make it the envy of the world. The most effective response, argues the Times Editorial Board, will be for those outside of higher ed to speak publicly about why universities matter. At the same time, those inside must “emerge from their defensive crouches” and be bolder in both trumpeting their strengths and addressing their weaknesses—helping themselves and the nation by making a forthright case for inquiry, research, science, and knowledge. Read this article

From The Atlantic
Academia Needs to Stick Up for Itself
By Nicholas B. Dirks

Drawing on his experiences as Chancellor of UC Berkeley during the first Trump administration, the author considers how universities can best defend themselves against the onslaught of Trump 2.0. He argues that institutions “would be in a much stronger position today if they had made a proactive case to the public” for their own value. Now college leaders must both rearticulate the unparalleled value of research universities and avoid assuming that because much right-wing criticism is made in bad faith, none of it is valid. Read this article

From Inside Higher Education
Religious Freedom as a Defense for DEI?
By Josh Moody and Sara Weissman

As universities keep their heads down amid Trump’s assault on DEI, Georgetown Law School’s response is notable, invoking not only the First Amendment but also the tenets of Catholic faith and protections on religious freedom. Jesuit institutions seem the most likely to make this legal case, given their historical emphasis on social justice. Though no institution has yet called on its faith mission to defend DEI in court, some legal experts believe a religious freedom argument could receive a strong reception in a Supreme Court warm toward religious issues. Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education

How the Study of Slavery Has Shaped the Academy

By Scott Spillman

Fascinating in its own right as a historiography of slavery studies and how it has shaped American academic life, this article takes on greater significance against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s attacks on universities. “The academy…has long provided a model for conducting fact-based arguments about contentious questions.” Can it continue to be such a model as the White House bans DEI, pushes “patriotic education,” and challenges the existence of facts and the authority of anyone but itself to determine what counts as evidence? Read this article

From Inside Higher Education

A President’s Journey to AI Adoption

By José Luis Cruz Rivera

The dog-food metaphor opening this article is a tipoff that the author doesn’t see AI as a path to either global apocalypse or a utopian future. With self-deprecating wit, he recounts initially reluctant steps to incorporate AI into his presidency and personal life, ultimately focusing him on what truly matters, “so I can do my job and live my life, better.” Vivid examples of specific AI uses, suitable tools, and helpful books and podcasts make this a resource for university leaders hoping to make AI “an invaluable partner in the nuanced work of academic leadership.” Read this article