It’s time to return the history of economic thought to the college curriculum.
By Bruce Caldwell
The college curriculum has been eroding in many fields. Students can major in English, for example, yet never read any Shakespeare. I’m sorry to report that my field, economics, is experiencing similar erosion--in particular, the demise of courses on the history of economic thought.
When I did my graduate work in economics at UNC, the history of economic thought was one of the core classes that all students had to take. We read and studied the great economists of the past – Smith, Malthus, Marx, Marshall, Keynes – whose insights directed (and sometimes misdirected) the progress of our discipline. Things have changed dramatically since then. The history of economic thought has virtually disappeared from the graduate curriculum in the United States, and if current trends continue, in a few decades it will have disappeared from the undergraduate curriculum, as well.
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A recent ruling by the North Carolina Court of Appeals places a needless burden on the state’s religiously based private colleges.
By Duke Cheston
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Erskine Bowles' replacement as president of the UNC system shares his North Carolina establishment insider status.
By Jay Schalin
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State Investment in Universities: Rethinking the Impact on Economic Growth
Policymakers today commonly assume that investing taxpayers' funds into higher education leads to major payoffs in economic growth. This report looks at broader economic studies that attempts to correlate expenditures with results. Accommodating College Students with Learning Disabilities: ADD, ADHD, and Dyslexia
Universities are providing extra time on tests, quiet exam rooms, in-class note-takers, and other assistance to college students with modest learning disabilities. But these policies are shrouded in secrecy. This paper, “Accommodating College Students with Learning Disabilities: ADD, ADHD, and Dyslexia,” by Melana Zyla Vickers, examines the nature of this assistance and discusses the policy questions it raises. Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech?
The report examines the speech, assembly and religious protections for students and faculty at North Carolina’s universities--both public and private. Using the speech code rating system from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the Pope Center found that none of North Carolina’s universities received a "green light."
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Higher Education Headlines
North Carolina
It's About to Hit the Fan
Jim Jenkins says all signs are pointing to disaster for UNC football. In the Raleigh News and Observer. Blue Cross and President Ross
Eric Ferreri questions the ties between NC's health care and university big wigs, suggesting a conflict of interest. In the Raleigh News and Observer. National
Commies, Spies, Tropical Islands
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that a new appellate court ruling held colleges cannot finance travel to Cuba with private funds. Hail Christ Victorious!
An appeals court ruled Wednesday that U. of Wisconsin student fees cannot be withheld from a Catholic group due to religion. In the Chronicle of Higher Education. Sleeping to Succeed
Dr. Michael J. Breus says college students should get more sleep if they want to succeed in school. In the Huffington Post.
Opinion
Diversity's Star is Fading
Ashley Thorne and Peter Wood comment on how administrators stubbornly cling to notions of diversity, to the detriment of faculty. On the NAS site. Heading for a Correction?
David French says that a college degree costs more and more but is worth less and less. On National Review Online. The Underperformance Problem
Russell K. Nieli details the little-discussed problem of blacks doing worse than their SAT scores predict. On Minding the Campus. |
