Higher Ed Now

ACTA's Michael Poliakoff talks with Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, President Emeritus of the George Washington University about the urgent financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on colleges and universities, their prospects for re-opening,  challenges imposed by declining enrollment, and the hard operational decisions that institutions will have to make in coming years.

Today we continue the conversation with college students impacted by the wide-ranging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss how they are adapting to the loss of their university environment, maintaining academic discipline and motivation as they deal with the shift to online learning, and much more. Joining the podcast are Emily Garcia and Justin Heywood of Arizona State University, and Isaac Huang of the University of California-Berkeley. All three guests are leaders of the influential student group, BridgeUSA.

How are college students coping with the wide-ranging effects of the Coronavirus pandemic? Our first episode features Daniel Acosta-Rivas, rising senior at American University, and Erez Binyamin, a recent graduate from Rochester Institute of Technology.

ACTA's Michael Poliakoff explores the erosion of academic freedom in the academy with John M. Ellis, professor emeritus at University of California-Santa Cruz, and the author of The Breakdown of Higher Education: How It Happened, the Damage It Does, and What Can Be Done.

How do the challenges that COVID-19 presents compare to other times of crisis in higher education? What forces have been brewing under the surface of the academy to make this such a difficult time for college campuses to cope with the pandemic? ACTA's Erik Gross tapped Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of history of education at the University of Pennsylvania, for perspectives.

As the COVID-19 pandemic expands, higher ed leaders, faculty and students are being forced to adapt in real time and rethink the future. Kaplan University Partners president Brandon Busteed joins ACTA's Michael Poliakoff for a wide-ranging discussion about the crucial challenges confronting institutions this fall and for many years to come.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing professors and instructors to move toward delivering courses online -- almost overnight. How are faculty, institutions, and students reckoning with this sudden shift? Lee Skallerup Bessette, Ph.D., Learning Design Specialist at Georgetown University, explores what goes into maintaining great pedagogical values in online instruction, and the sweep of urgent issues confronting students during this crisis.

One of the nation's leading researchers in the field of drug and alcohol abuse, Dr. Amelia Arria is respected by higher ed leaders and policy makers alike. A key driver of the influential Maryland Collaborative, she helps trustees and administrators forge strategies and intervention policies to help students stay healthy and successful on their academic journey. 

Robert L. DuPont, MD, one of the nation's leading voices on drug and alcohol use, joins our podcast for a passionate discussion on recovery, prevention, and what college leaders need to know to save students' lives and help them succeed. Over the past 51 years, Dr. DuPont has been a major player shaping federal policy, guiding institutions, and helping countless individuals move from addiction into recovery.

Do colleges treat anti-Semitism differently from sexism and racism? Evan Gerstmann, professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University, phoned in to talk with ACTA president Michael Poliakoff about his recent Forbes articles that explore this topic.

In this conversation recorded on Veteran's Day, Michael Poliakoff explores the modern influence of the liberal arts tradition with two of its most dedicated proponents, John Hillen and Ryan Pemberton from Hampden-Sydney College -- an institution with roots linked to the founding of our nation.

Professor George LaNoue brings a lifetime of teaching college students about the First Amendment, educational policy, Constitutional law, civil rights, and more. He visited ACTA to spotlight his new book, Silenced Stages: The Loss of Academic Freedom and Campus Policy Debates, which probes into how often colleges expose their students to civil debate on important, and often controversial, public policy questions. 

"What can educators, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and activists do to create a higher ed ecosystem that's as rich and diverse and intellectually curious as we want our nation to be?" Frederick M. Hess, resident scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, takes a deep dive into the state of civic education with ACTA's President Michael Poliakoff.

The loving partnership of Abigail and John Adams played a remarkable role in shaping America's founding and history. ACTA joins the Grateful American Foundation and the Supreme Court Historical Society to celebrate the release of a new children's book exploring the narrative of our nation's most influential early couple. 

Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the innovative CollegePoint program is giving thousands of high-achieving, low- and moderate-income high school students the individualized support they need to navigate the college application and financial aid process. We sat down with Jenny Sharfstein Kane of Bloomberg Philanthropies to explore how it works.

ACTA's Erik Gross serves up a conversation with Jason Brennan and Phillip Magness, the authors of "Cracks In the Ivory Tower: The Moral Mess of Higher Education." Their microeconomic approach to analyzing the adversities plaguing today's colleges and universities lays out a gripping narrative that is sure to challenge orthodoxies in the Academy.

Kyler Gray, a rising senior at the University of Central Florida, is an emerging higher education leader. On top of full time studies, he serves as the president of the UCF student body, CEO of the Student Government Association, *and* as the sole student member of the university's Board of Trustees -- representing 68,000 students in the UCF community. We sat down with Kyler to explore his passion, vision, and experiences in governance on the ground at a major public institution.

April Lawson is a guiding light and director of debates at Better Angels, a remarkable national organization that has surged into the spotlight by effectively teaching citizens to combat polarization and restore civil dialogue across America. April's leadership informs Better Angels' partnership with ACTA -- and our shared vision to help students build a culture of respectful dialogue and viewpoint diversity on college campuses.

Is there really a disjunct between the world of the practical and the world of the liberal arts? Dr. Fred Beuttler, guiding light of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies of the University of Chicago, certainly doesn't think so. In this episode he returns to ACTA for an illuminating conversation with Michael Poliakoff.

Back in 2011, Wallace Hall was sounding alarms about admissions wrongdoings at the University of Texas System, where he served as Regent. His activism drew blistering criticism and brought him to the brink of impeachment -- until 2015, when an investigation fully validated his claims. In light of global headlines about the college admissions scandal, Hall's stance is now regarded as heroic. In a conversation at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, he shared an inside view with ACTA's Michael Poliakoff.