The author of T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us, Dr. Hooven served as the former codirector of undergraduate studies in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Her research focuses on how hormones shape human behavior (and vice versa), specifically related to sex differences. Her Hormones and Behavior class was named one of the “top ten tried and true” by the Harvard Crimson.

In 2021, she appeared on Fox and Friends to discuss the pressure some faculty feel to refrain from using terms such as “pregnant woman” and “male and female.” After her appearance, the director of her department’s diversity, inclusion, and belonging task force, a graduate student, published a Tweet calling her remarks “transphobic” and “dangerous.” The incident went viral, and a petition was circulated against Dr. Hooven. While facing intense attacks on her reputation and academic work, she received no support from the Harvard administration.

“Some say cancel culture isn’t real. What happened to Carole Hooven at Harvard is proof that it is,” said Steven McGuire, ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom. “She was denounced and ostracized by students and other faculty members for daring to discuss matters related to her scientific expertise on a television program. Abandoned by all but a few of her colleagues, she refused to apologize or yield to the vicious attacks, and she took a stand for academic freedom, science, and the pursuit of truth. She truly is a hero of intellectual freedom, modeling for others the courage it takes to resist the whims of ideological censors.” Dr. McGuire recently engaged in a lively conversation with Dr. Hooven on ACTA’s podcast, Higher Ed Now.

“Carole Hooven was attacked for mentioning ideas that can be found in an introductory biology textbook. How can we hope to see progress in science if scholars cannot discuss even the basics of their fields without fear of reprisal from ideologues?” stated ACTA President Michael Poliakoff. “As Albert Einstein said, ‘freedom of communication is indispensable for the development and extension of scientific knowledge.’ Harvard abandoned its duties to science and to a member of its community when it refused to defend Dr. Hooven. We at ACTA take pride in honoring her. She has shown great courage and resilience and, unlike Harvard, has demonstrated her unwavering commitment to scientific integrity during this trial.”

ACTA will honor Dr. Hooven in Washington, DC, at our annual ATHENA Roundtable Conference on October 27, 2023. She joins a distinguished group of Heroes of Intellectual Freedom from previous years, including Professor Erec Smith of York College of Pennsylvania (2022), Professor Dorian Abbot of the University of Chicago (2021), and Joshua Katz, formerly of Princeton University (2020).

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org

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“In his long and distinguished career as a scholar, teacher, humanist, and citizen of the academy, Professor Kors has exemplified the values and virtues on which true education rests,” said ACTA President Michael Poliakoff. “It is not accidental that the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment would also be the most consequential figure of our generation in the struggle to protect campus freedom of expression. He breathes the very spirit of the Enlightenment: an open mind, a commitment to human freedom, and a devotion to intellectual rigor. He has been a storied mentor to the students fortunate to be in his classroom and also to those beyond who have been inspired by his writing and his public lectures. ACTA is privileged to present to Alan Charles Kors the Philip Merrill Award.”

Dr. Kors joined the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, where he now holds the post of Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus of European History. He served as editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment and has written several books and many articles on early modern French intellectual history. He served for six years on the National Council for the Humanities and has received fellowships from the American Council for Learned Societies, the Smith-Richardson Foundation, and the Davis Center for Historical Studies at Princeton University. In 2005, President George W. Bush awarded the National Humanities Medal to Dr. Kors for his dedication to the study of the humanities and the defense of academic freedom. Three years after accepting the National Humanities Medal, Dr. Kors also received the prestigious Bradley Prize. In 1999, Dr. Kors cofounded FIRE with Harvey Silverglate and later served as its pro bono codirector, president, and chairman.

Dr. Kors will accept the award and deliver remarks at ACTA’s Philip Merrill Award Gala on October 27, 2023, in Washington, DC. Tribute speakers will include Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program at Princeton University; C. Bradley Thompson, professor of political science at Clemson University and executive director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism; and American historian Allen C. Guelzo, who serves as senior research scholar in the Council of the Humanities and director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship in the James Madison Program at Princeton University.

To see a full list of ACTA’s former Merrill Award winners, click here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org

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Director Andrew J. Taylor remarks, “”The Free and Open Societies Project has been going, in one form or another, for nearly twenty years during which we have elevated and diversified the intellectual climate on NC State’s campus and added significant value to students’ educations.  To have this recognized by ACTA is incredibly satisfying and we hope to make this Oasis of Excellence a place where students and faculty can quench their thirst for ideas for twenty years to come.”   

Oases of Excellence are outstanding programs at colleges and universities across the country that are dedicated to educating students for informed citizenship in a free society by maintaining the highest academic standards, introducing students to the best of the foundational arts and sciences, teaching American heritage, and ensuring free inquiry into a range of intellectual viewpoints. ACTA’s Oases of Excellence network now includes over 80 programs at a wide range of institutions. The network is a forum for sharing ideas and best practices for running an independent liberal arts program and serves as a valuable resource for donors who are committed to supporting academic excellence. 

ACTA is proud of the work of these programs and is grateful to the faculty who make Oases of Excellence possible. ACTA President Michael Poliakoff stated, “At a time when surveys reveal with chilling clarity how little college students understand about America’s free institutions and their history, these centers’ efforts to equip students for informed and engaged life are urgently needed. They model the vigorous, free discourse and intellectual diversity that are the lifeblood of our free society. They also encourage the rich life of the mind through deep engagement in the liberal arts.”   

A complete list of ACTA’s Oases of Excellence can be found here. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org

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“What’s unique about WWTL is that we evaluate what students are learning,” says ACTA Director of Curricular Improvement Veronica Mayer Bryant. “Specifically, we grade each school on the strength of its core curriculum, evaluating what colleges should be teaching students. No other college search tool or ranking system measures academics with this depth.” 

The newly redesigned WhatWillTheyLearn.com is a one-stop shop where college-bound students, parents, high school counselors, and policymakers can become informed about what students are learning on campuses today. Not only can users see the ratings ACTA gives each school based on its core curriculum requirements, but they can also view data on tuition rates, student-to-faulty ratios, the climate for free speech on campus, and more. New features allow users to see nationwide data at a glance and explore schools with an expanded set of search filters. Additionally, our new member module allows users to access new search features, including religious affiliation and campus setting, with more to come.

“With our updates, WhatWillTheyLearn.com is now an even more powerful search tool for learning about over 1,100 American colleges and universities. We hope that students and parents will use this site to inform themselves about the general education requirements at the schools they are considering, as well as the wealth of other data offered on the site,” says ACTA Vice President of Policy Bradley Jackson. “With the cost of higher education higher than ever, it is necessary to choose your school wisely. We hope that the new WhatWillTheyLearn.com will help many families do just that.”

ACTA President Michael Poliakoff states, “ACTA has been working day and night for over two decades to advocate for academic excellence in higher education. With the new and improved WWTL website, we take yet another step toward making reliable curricular information accessible to all college-seeking parents and students. We hope that their choices in favor of strong curricula and academic excellence will help drive greater change in the academy. The consequences of failing this generation of students are too apparent to need spelling out; the task ahead of us is a serious one.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org

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The Ohio State Board of Trustees has taken decisive steps to reaffirm its commitment to free speech, beginning with an interim free speech policy in 2022, finalized in May. While the university has been operating on the policy’s free speech guidance for the past year, this week’s action by the board of trustees is a formal and luminous way to integrate the fundamentals of the storied University of Chicago’s Principles on Freedom of Expression and the Kalven Report on institutional neutrality further into campus life.

The resolution states, “Ohio State takes seriously its role in promoting and supporting public discourse and is steadfastly committed to protecting the First Amendment right to free speech and expression. . . . While universities have an independent right, and in some cases a responsibility, to speak on their own behalf, the Board of Trustees recognizes that institutional speech carries a corresponding responsibility to be judicious and transparently principled in deciding if, when, and how to engage in such speech so as not to harm the core values of free expression and intellectual diversity.”

“By so clearly endorsing free expression and institutional neutrality, and doing so unanimously, the Ohio State Board of Trustees has claimed a position in the vanguard of leadership in higher education,” says ACTA President Michael Poliakoff. “Decades ago, the Kalven Committee identified the university’s ‘respect for free inquiry and the obligation to cherish a diversity of opinions.’ Today, such principles are too often imperiled on campus and in American civic life. The Ohio State Board of Trustees has done Ohio and the nation a service by defending the core values of American higher education and our free society.”

ACTA recognizes that Ohio State University’s Board of Trustees is in the very top rank of academic leaders who understand that the freedom to question, speak, debate, and discuss is the very lifeblood of American society and must be protected.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org
PHONE: (202) 798-5425

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One of the most important duties of college governing boards is to select the university president. According to a study by the American Council on Education, the average tenure of a college president is now under six years, 2.6 years less than in 2006. While there are many factors at play in the shortening of presidential tenures, in many instances, the problem stems from an inadequate fit between trustees’ expectations and the executive’s performance. Presidential searches are time-consuming and often costly, so governing boards must carefully clarify their vision and map out the search process to ensure they make the right decision.

ACTA’s guide, Assuring a Successful College President Search, covers all the essential steps, from pitfalls to avoid, to interviewing candidates, to negotiating contracts. It offers several practical resources, including a presidential search checklist, a draft search calendar, a request for proposals from search firms, and more.

As an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability at America’s colleges and universities, ACTA is uniquely positioned to provide clear, unbiased guidance on this important topic. Hard copies of the guide will be distributed to every board chair in the country, and it is available to all at no cost on ACTA’s website.

Mr. Dickeson and ACTA Chief of Staff & Senior Vice Present Armand Alacbay are available for interviews. Contact ganglin@GoACTA.org to schedule an interview.

Read the complete guide.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org
PHONE: (202) 798-5425

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Oases of Excellence are outstanding programs at colleges and universities across the country that are dedicated to educating students for informed citizenship in a free society by maintaining the highest academic standards, introducing students to the best of the foundational arts and sciences, teaching American heritage, and ensuring free inquiry into a range of intellectual viewpoints. ACTA’s Oases of Excellence network now includes over 80 programs at a wide range of institutions. The network is a forum for sharing ideas and best practices for running an independent liberal arts program and serves as a valuable resource for donors who are committed to supporting academic excellence.

The Center for Great Books & Human Flourishing at Faulkner University offers undergraduates the opportunity to engage with questions of the good life and a flourishing society through student programming, speaker events, and fellowships. It holds public lectures, hosts visiting faculty, and provides professional development opportunities for teachers. Director Jason Jewell said, “The Center for Great Books & Human Flourishing has had great success showing students and the public the essential connection between a classical liberal arts education and constructive engagement in public life. We are thrilled to receive the Oasis of Excellence designation from ACTA and look forward to a fruitful partnership.”

The Madden Center for Value Creation at Florida Atlantic University seeks to provide students with an intellectual foundation to become value creators in their communities and contribute to overall prosperity within our society. Madden Center Executive Director Siri Terjesen remarked, “In just one year, the Madden Center has launched a free certificate in value creation (currently with over 1,400 students), hosted 12 research conferences, hosted several free speech events, released a book on value creation, organized a biotech and longevity conference, offered civics training to incarcerated persons in South Florida, and hosted many state and national political leaders.” She continued, “We admire ACTA’s important work in universities across the country and are honored to be recognized for our commitment to high academic standards, free inquiry, and donor integrity.”

ACTA is proud of the work of these programs and is grateful to the faculty who make Oases of Excellence possible. ACTA President Michael Poliakoff remarked, “A strong liberal arts education has become all too rare at a time when students need it the most. These centers’ efforts to prepare students for an informed and engaged life of the mind are vital for the strength of our civil society and the health of our nation.”

A complete list of ACTA’s Oases of Excellence can be found here. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org
PHONE: (202) 798-5425

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Setting a higher or lower barrier for students of one race or another is as ethically bankrupt a concept as establishing a different criminal code for one race or another. SCOTUS has upheld the principle of equality under the law; it has rejected the dictum of the acolytes of Ibram X. Kendi, who argue that “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.”

The power structure of DEI offices and race-based admissions (and sometimes faculty hires) has metastasized throughout higher education, trampling upon merit and fairness and spawning a massive and expensive bureaucracy at a time when the cost of higher education has already become unsustainably high.

Harvard, remarkably, admitted early in this case that Asian high school students do not receive a letter from its recruiters unless they score at least 1350 on the combined verbal and quantitative SAT exams; black and Hispanic students hear from recruiters with a score at or above 1100. White students in rural states such as Nevada and Montana need at least a 1310. Harvard’s “personality index,” used to determine the admissions decision, has been a sly, subtle, and arguably discriminatory barrier in the path of Asian students whose academic records and extracurricular activities should have earned them a place at Harvard.
 
The promotion of a narrowly focused vision of diversity has nearly displaced the pursuit of excellence, corrupting the very soul of the academy. Implementing the good work of pursuing merit, excellence, and fairness will now be the task of the citizens of the academy and the citizens of the nation. We must be ready to do it with fidelity.

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Key findings:

• Only 6 in 10 students (59%) say it is never acceptable to use violence to disrupt a campus speaker. Eighteen percent say it is always or sometimes acceptable.
• Only one-fifth of students (21%) say shouting down a campus speaker is never acceptable. Forty-four percent say it is always or sometimes acceptable.
• Half of all students (47%) and 70% of conservative students report feeling like they could not express themselves at least occasionally.
• Seven in 10 liberal students (71%) report having few to no friends with different political beliefs. Only 1 in 5 conservative students (21%) say the same.

ACTA President Michael Poliakoff remarked, “We are seeing meaningful breakthroughs in the Texas capital. However, the political divide in our nation is widening, and our survey suggests one of the catalysts of polarization is happening right on campus, where friendship and positive interaction should build understanding. There is clearly quite a distance to travel to restore intellectual diversity on campus and relearn what it means to engage in civil discourse. The regents are firmly on the path of embracing best practices for building campuses that—to borrow the words of the UT System—promote ‘fearless freedom of debate and deliberation.’”

“The University of Texas System Board of Regents should be commended for adopting the Chicago Principles last fall,” stated ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom, Dr. Steven McGuire. “But our survey shows that more needs to be done to create a culture of free expression and viewpoint diversity at UT–Austin. It is especially disturbing to see how many students say it is acceptable to use violence to stop someone from speaking. A university campus should be a refuge from threats of violence where people can freely and openly debate ideas and exchange views. Leadership at UT–Austin should take further steps to educate its students about the importance of free expression while also establishing policies that protect it and promote viewpoint diversity. ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression has tools to help rectify this imbalance and make its campus more open to diverse viewpoints.”

The survey report can be found here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org
PHONE: (202) 798-5425

The post <strong>New Survey of UT—Austin Students by ACTA Reveals Disturbing Trends in Self-Censorship on Campus </strong> appeared first on American Council of Trustees and Alumni.

Key findings:

• Thirty-five percent of students said that it is “always acceptable” or “sometimes acceptable” to shout down an invited speaker.
• Forty-five percent of conservative students said they do not speak up at least several times a month because they fear their opinion would be unwelcome, compared to just 16% of liberal students.
• Seven in 10 liberal students (71%) reported having few to no friends with different political beliefs. Only 1 in 3 conservative students (33%) said the same.
• One-third of all students (32%) and half of conservative students said it is “not very clear” or “not at all clear” that the university administration protects free speech.
  
  

ACTA President Michael Poliakoff remarked, “A university should be a sanctuary where the free exchange of ideas thrives, and viewpoint diversity isn’t just tolerated but encouraged. Instead, the cultures on American university campuses are increasingly characterized by fear, intimidation, and ideological conformity. The Buckeye state’s flagship university has a chance to reverse that trend and right the ship, but it must act with purpose and urgency. If OSU takes these findings seriously, it can be a model for free expression and intellectual diversity on campus and truly educate for citizenry.”

“Our survey suggests that the OSU administration needs to do more to encourage free expression and intellectual diversity on campus,” stated ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom, Dr. Steven McGuire. “Too many students are self-censoring, and too many are willing to stop others from sharing their views. By surveying over 2,000 students, we heard from a significant number of self-identified conservative students, and it is clear that they experience a campus that is less friendly to them and their views compared to their liberal peers. OSU should seek to rectify this imbalance and make its campus more open to diverse viewpoints by implementing the recommendations in ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression.

The survey report can be found here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org
PHONE: (202) 798-5425

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