Opinion: The chilling effect on campuses isn't because of left-wing ideology

Jena Heath
Sun, November 21, 2021

When news broke that a group of academic heavyweights and conservative firebrands plans to launch a new university in Austin dedicated to “the fearless pursuit of truth,” by which the founders mean combatting what they see as left-wing ideology flooding college campuses, the Twitter bomb-throwing made for amusing reading.

Critics pointed out that the University of Austin isn’t conferring degrees, isn’t accredited, doesn’t have a location for its campus, and wasn’t shy about fundraising. The word “grifter” appeared frequently, along with comparisons to scandal-ridden Trump University. Just this week, two prominent advisory board members announced they were stepping down.

The founders, among them a former Harvard University president and one-time New York Times Opinion editor turned right-wing darling, say they are defending free speech by creating a place where no idea is off limits. Their announcement paints a picture of left-wing terrorism silencing students and ousting academics, “for having a wrong opinion about hot-button issues such as gender differences or immigration,” and other cancel culture concerns. “The reality is that many universities no longer have an incentive to create an environment where intellectual dissent is protected and fashionable opinions are scrutinized,” the announcement proclaimed.

As a professor at a private liberal arts university, I am well aware of the challenges facing higher education. I don’t disagree with the group’s critique of low graduation rates, opaque financing formulas, and top-heavy administrative structures, and I’m glad to see students and families asking questions. It also seems to me that real dissent and disagreement has been less evident on campus.

But here’s a thought: The reason for the silence isn’t left-wing bullying, it’s money. Nothing puts a pall over the workplace like financial fear.

For too many colleges and universities, the COVID pandemic is exacerbating what birthrate demographics had already made clear: Fewer babies are in the pipeline and that means fewer college students to recruit. In a recent article headlined “Are Liberal Arts Colleges Doomed?” the Washington Post cites an economist’s prediction that, starting in 2026, the four-year-college applicant pool may shrink by almost 280,000 per class, over four years — impending doom known to admissions officials as “the Apocalypse.” While the loosely regulated for-profits have been most susceptible to financial peril, small, private colleges have also been shutting their doors or pursuing reorganization plans.

Stir into this stew the isolation and passivity the pandemic has imposed on us all, pepper with recent news reports questioning whether college is even necessary and what you get is deep insecurity — a state of mind my colleagues in administration quietly refer to as an existential crisis. This isn’t the sort of atmosphere that yields discussion of tough issues. As the gloom has descended, I’ve lost count of the number of meetings I’ve attended where hard questions about how we can best recruit and retain students in this climate get asked, much less answered. I hear the same from colleagues around the country, all of whom are committed, across disciplines, departments and ideologies, to helping their students learn to think independently and make their way in the world.

The University of Austin founders start their announcement by quoting the Yale and Harvard mottos, both in Latin and both proclaiming lofty thoughts about truth and freedom. The founders profess to close the “gaping chasm between the promise and the reality of higher education” with their old-school approach to the culture wars.

Down here on earth, the campus where I teach just held a week-long first-generation celebration to honor students for whom legacy admissions is as distant a concept as taking a gap year in Europe. We could use some smart higher ed experts to join us as we work across our differences for meaningful solutions to what ails higher education.

Heath is an associate dean at the School of Arts and Humanities at St. Edward's University, an associate professor of journalism and digital media, and coordinator of the Journalism and Digital Media program.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Opinion: The chilling effect on campuses isn't because of left-wing ideology