In October 2025, the Trump administration proposed a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” that attempted to address serious challenges including viewpoint diversity, educational quality, and cost in American colleges and universities. In a new series of eight reports, AEI education scholars and outside experts led by Frederick M. Hess are showing how the compact’s eight priorities could be turned into durable reforms from Congress and the states.
Universities should not wait for federal action to address the erosion of pluralism on campus—they should seize the opportunity to win back the public’s trust with their own constructive, internal reforms. AEI Center for the Future of the American University (CFAU) Codirector Benjamin Storey and CFAU affiliate Jon Shields make the case for incorporating conservative thought into college curricula.
Diverging generational attitudes only heighten the importance of preserving free expression and viewpoint diversity in schools and more broadly across American life. In an AEI Survey Center on American Life (SCAL) report based on a new survey of more than 5,000 adults, SCAL Director Daniel A. Cox and Kelsey Eyre Hammond analyze how younger Americans’ increasing emphasis on individuality and self-expression is challenging shared understandings of right and wrong.
On December 2, AEI Press published the latest volume in our “America at 250” book series: Slavery, Equality, and the American Revolution, edited by Yuval Levin, Adam J. White, and John Yoo. The book features contributions from Randy E. Barnett, Kurt T. Lash, Lucas E. Morel, Justin Driver, and AEI Nonresident Senior Fellow Diana Schaub on how the Revolution both perpetuated slavery and created the conditions for its abolition. Order a copy here and read the full text on AEI’s “America at 250” website.
