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Trump is really coming for the universities

Brian Leiter

At least he didn't mention firing tenured faculty, but the idea that accreditation will be contingent on schools "defending" the American tradition and Western civilization is an invitation to a purge.   This won't happen overnight, but it could easily happen in the next three or four years.   Anyone with more details and information about these plans, please post links in the comments.  Will Chris Rufo be the next Secretary of Education? 

ADDENDUM:   I should note that if "defending" the American tradition and Western Civilization means requiring faculty to take a loyalty oath, then it is no different, legally, than the unlawful diversity statements in wide use at many schools–and, oh boy, the AAUP really screwed us all with their defense of the latter which, as I noted, opens the door for Trump.  There will be both First Amendment challenges to any such accreditation standards, and, at the private universities, breach of contract challenges.

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3 responses to “Trump is really coming for the universities”

  1. HSK

    I'll just say – given the fairly serious talk of eliminating the Department of Education, I imagine the only silver lining is that there won't be a Chris Rufo to be a Secretary of Education!

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  2. Early career academic

    This is speculation, but going through accreditation to „correct“ what some see as anti academic DEI takeover is exactly what DEI critic Jordan Peterson has been touting for a few years now. Given how close he‘s grown to white house republicans (and even some democrats!), and given his immense influence on those politicians (as I have learned from them in personal conversation), I can absolutely see him being at least the consultant behind this. However, for him, „defending western civilization“ means not much more than defending academic freedom. He views free speech and academic freedom as the core of western civilization, and he’s also been a critic of Rufo’s. I wouldn’t expect or worry about overreach, if Peterson was consulting on this.

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  3. J

    Putting faith in Jordan Peterson to be the adult in the room and temper Trump's impulses? Sure. I'll be holding my breath on that one.

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