Reformers announce the founding of the University of Austin
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CounterCurrent:
A New University Returns to Higher Ed’s Roots
Reformers announce the founding of the University of Austin
CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, bringing you the biggest issues in academia and our responses to them.
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Category: Academic Freedom; Reading Time: ~2 minutes
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** Featured Article - We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One. by Pano Kanelos ([link removed])
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When it comes to reforming academia, we generally see two strategies at play. The first, which we may call the “Save Our Schools (SOS)” strategy, holds that American higher education in its current state is still salvageable. SOS-ers advocate for both internal reform—changing curricula ([link removed]) , trimming administrative fat ([link removed]) , encouraging intellectual diversity ([link removed]) , etc.—and external reform—foreign gift transparency ([link removed]) , First Amendment protections ([link removed]) , Title IX revisions ([link removed]) , and the like. If these reforms are successful, they claim, then we can restore academia to its former
glory. Or at least we have a shot.
On the other side we have the “Burn It All Down” strategy, or perhaps more accurately, the “Let Academe Burn Itself Down” strategy. Burn-ers are not so optimistic about reforming academia as it now stands, and many believe that to pursue the above-mentioned reforms is to polish brass on a sinking ship. They think we should allow mainstream higher education to destroy itself, which it’s already doing quite well, and focus on developing alternatives, such as short-term vocational programs ([link removed]) and MOOCs ([link removed]) .
Of course, this is not a zero-sum game. It’s possible to pursue reforms to existing institutions while also supporting the establishment of new ones. I suspect that most people, while they might lean one way or another, see the benefit of both approaches and would rally behind reformers they know in either camp. But time is short and resources are limited, so perhaps a “divide and conquer” strategy is the way to go. SOS-ers and Burn-ers can put their differences aside and work on winning the battles in their own arenas. This combo-strategy may be more effective than a simple either-or choice.
In this week’s featured article ([link removed]) , we turn to an exciting bit of news from the Burn-er camp. Pano Kanelos, former president of St. John’s College, Annapolis, has announced on Bari Weiss’ Substack blog the launch of a new institution: The University of Austin ([link removed]) (UATX). His headline says it all: “We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One.”
Who’s “we”? As he explains, Kanelos has assembled an impressive Board of Advisors for the fledgling university, including Weiss herself, Niall Ferguson, Glenn Loury, Steven Pinker, Wilfred McClay, and many, many more. Additionally, UATX has three founding faculty fellows—Peter Boghossian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Kathleen Stock—who are working together to plan the school’s institutional design and forthcoming curricula.
UATX’s mission is on one level quite simple: “the fearless pursuit of truth.” What a shame that this is a revolutionary pursuit in our day. To expand on this central mission, though, I’ll let Kanelos speak for himself:
Our rigorous curriculum will be the first designed in partnership not only with great teachers but also society’s great doers—founders of daring ventures, dissidents who have stood up to authoritarianism, pioneers in tech, and the leading lights in engineering and the natural sciences. Our students will be exposed to the deepest wisdom of civilization and learn to encounter works not as dead traditions but as fierce contests of timeless significance that help human beings distinguish between what is true and false, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Students will come to see such open inquiry as a lifetime activity that demands of them a brave, sometimes discomfiting, search for enduring truths.
If this is music to your ears, then stay tuned: The University of Austin will launch ([link removed]) its summer program this year, its graduate programs over the next two years, and its undergraduate college in 2024. The National Association of Scholars stands behind ([link removed]) UATX and will support its ventures in any way we can. Our country and its future leaders desperately need to be trained in the fearless pursuit of truth—it is our hope that UATX can serve as a haven for true higher education for many years to come.
Until next week.
David Acevedo
Communications & Research Associate
National Association of Scholars
Read More ([link removed])
For more on academic freedom and higher ed reform:
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November 9, 2021
** Bucking the Trend and Starting from Scratch: The University of Austin [MTC] ([link removed])
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Louis K. Bonham
I would much rather support those brave enough to return higher ed to its classical roots, as opposed those who meekly surrender to DEI pseudoscholarship. Who's with me?
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November 08, 2021
** A New University Dedicated to the Fearless Pursuit of Truth ([link removed])
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NAS
The National Association of Scholars welcomes the founding of the University of Austin, Texas—a new light in the darkness of higher education for students seeking a truly liberal education.
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October 15, 2021
** Tracking Cancel Culture in Higher Education ([link removed])
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David Acevedo
UPDATED: A repository of 194 professors, administrators, and students who have been canceled for expressing views deemed unacceptable by higher education ideologues.
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September 9, 2021
** Take This Job and Shove It ([link removed])
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Oregon Association of Scholars
PSU Board of Trustees must investigate the resignation of Dr. Peter Boghossian.
** About the NAS
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