CounterCurrent: Week of 09/23/24
College closures, campus protests, and cancellations, oh my. This week is off to a busy start for higher education.
Since 2020, 64 colleges have closed their doors or merged with other institutions, with more expected to close. The uptick in this trend has been mostly felt by small, private liberal arts institutions, compared to the shut downs of nearly 900 schools spurred by Obama administration crack downs—mostly on for-profit institutions. However, these recent closures feel different, says Rob Jenkins, Minding the Campus’s newest columnist. With the recent closures affecting mostly not-for-profit institutions and some public colleges, Jenkins asks “Why is this happening?” and “What might be the long-term consequences?”
In addressing the first question, Jenkins points to shrinking enrollments, mostly due to birth rate decline from 1990 to 2001; COVID-era closures which prevented students from attending college, with some never returning; loss of trust in higher education; and many employers no longer requiring college degrees for entry-level positions. Jenkins suggests a plan for at-risk or concerned colleges to avoid closure, noting that institutions should critically assess their programs for potential downsizing, address mission creep, and avoid being overtly political, to name a few. “With the ‘enrollment cliff’ fast approaching, things are likely to get worse before they get better. Still, colleges that plan ahead, embrace their identity, and make sacrifices now stand a good chance of surviving,” Jenkins concludes.
His call to action is wise, and something that larger institutions should take into consideration.
The one year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel is quickly approaching, and it seems students are chomping at the bit to restart their anti-Israel protests ahead of October 7. In a video taken last Wednesday by J. Scott Turner, director of science programs at the National Association of Scholars (NAS), we see a first hand account of the burgeoning protests at Cornell University, and perhaps some insight into what we can expect in the coming weeks.
The September 18, 2024 protest was staged outside of Day Hall on Cornell’s main campus and organized by a student group called the Coalition for Mutual Liberation—self-described as a “broad coalition of solidarity.” Students were encouraged to wear masks to conceal their identities. Throughout the series of speeches, cheers erupted at statements like “we know we are on the right side of history” and “we stand with the oppressed”—emotional appeals were the choice of the day to rally attendees. Protest attendees marched to the Statler Hotel where a job recruitment fair was being held and illegally entered the premises, marching and chanting throughout the hotel before being escorted out by Cornell police. Protest organizers did not enter the building, but did encourage attendees to do so. This won't be the first or last campus protest before the semester ends, so higher education leaders must be prepared to address disruptive demonstrations swiftly—last spring showed us the consequences of weak leadership in such moments.
As October 7 nears, NAS will be monitoring campuses and reporting first hand when and where we can.
As for cancellations, an ongoing case against Amy Wax has come to a head. Wax’s case is one NAS has followed closely over the past few years, and now the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), after years of disciplinary procedure, has finally brought down the gavel. Wax is not losing her job at Penn, but she is facing harsh punishment, as Inside Higher Ed explains,
[S]he is being suspended next academic year at half pay and will lose her summer pay in perpetuity. Further, she will no longer be honored as the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law—she’s losing that named chair. She was also publicly reprimanded today and must note in future public appearances that she speaks only for herself and not the university or law school.
For a brief case refresher, Wax initially came under fire for “inflammatory statements and writings”—which really meant she dissented from monoculture. The university also alleged that Wax made offensive and racist statements—something Wax denies. The former dean of Penn’s Carey Law School, Theodore L. Ruger, called for a hearing board to sanction Wax. In May 2023, five tenured faculty decided what is now Wax’s punishment, and then-President Elizabeth Magill agreed. Wax appealed the rulings against her, and in May of this year, Penn’s Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility upheld them. Now it’s clear that Penn is out for blood with their public statement that the sanctions are final.
We eagerly await the coming days as this affront to academic freedom is unlikely to go unchallenged.
Until next week.
CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, written by the NAS Staff. To subscribe, update your email preferences here.
Photo is a screenshot taken from the Cornell Protest video by J. Scott Turner, NAS YouTube
