AKA Review - 04.04.2025

From The Atlantic
The Cost of the Government’s Attack on Columbia
By Christopher L. Eisgruber

Princeton’s President argues that the White House attack on Columbia cuts at the heart of academic freedom—a principle that has long undergirded America’s leadership in research and ability to attract the world’s finest scholars. While universities should speak up and litigate forcefully in the face of this threat, they cannot prevail alone. Every citizen who cares about economic growth, saving lives, improving well-being, and overcoming injustice should demand a stop to the government’s unwarranted intrusion on academic freedom. Read this article

From The New Republic
Trump’s Atrocious War on Higher Ed Demands an Aggressive Response
By Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Julian E. Zelizer

Co-signed by two dozen faculty and academic leaders, this article provides a comprehensive picture of the benefits that the decades-long partnership between universities and government has provided every American, state, and corner of the world. Now, with a White House that declares universities “the enemy,” university leaders cannot wait for someone else to defend our places of learning. They must ensure that the public does not lose sight of higher ed’s important, ongoing contributions to the economy, science, knowledge, and citizenship. Read this article

From The American Prospect
Columbia’s Capitulation, and Wesleyan’s Pushback
By Robert Kuttner

Wesleyan’s President Michael Roth calls the capitulation of Columbia and other universities to demands from the Trump administration “a Vichy moment.” Yet when he tried to organize college leaders in opposition, Roth found no takers. Their cowardice, the author argues, is rooted in the “corporatization” of American universities. As presidents cultivate rich donors and try to maximize federal funding, they deprioritize scholarly inquiry and academic freedom—debasing the core of higher ed and abetting the corruption of democracy. Read this article

From The New York Times
$15 Billion Is Enough to Fight a President
By Charlie Eaton

This UC economic sociologist offers a financial strategy for universities to push back against Trump cuts to higher ed. Declaring “they will not suppress free speech, diversity programs, or campus research,” college leaders must pledge to backstop federal funding cuts with their massive endowments. “Simple arithmetic,” he argues, shows that Columbia could make up $400 million in federal cuts from its endowment with minimal impact. “If they won’t spend their wealth to defend their academic missions, what are they hoarding it for?” Read this article

From The Economist
America is sabotaging itself in the global battle for talent

Immigrants make a disproportionately large contribution to innovation. Yet despite being the world’s most attractive labor market, the U.S. sabotages its efforts to attract top talent with one of the world’s most dysfunctional immigration systems. The smartest way to attract talent, The Economist argues, is to, first, remove obstacles and, second, use simple, objective criteria for deciding whom to admit. “It is not altruism that stops most rich countries from poaching footloose talent more effectively. It is incompetence.” Read this article