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The crisis at American colleges

The triumph of America's research university: Since the 19th century, the institutions’ thinkers have discovered a dazzling array of new knowledge — yet attacks on academic freedom mean all their potential is now at risk. Without tenure, professors become terrified sheep. Tenure and diversity: Colin Dickey interviews Patricia Matthew, author of Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure. What are the consequences of institutionalising the intellectuals? Tom Boland on the university as an intellectual asylum. Andrew Hoffman on why academics are losing relevance in society — and how to stop it. Maximillian Alvarez on the accidental elitist: Academia is too important to be left to academics.

A violent attack on free speech at Middlebury: Liberals must defend the right of conservative students to invite speakers of their choice, even if they find their views abhorrent. The myth of the “marketplace of ideas” on campus: Conservative speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Charles Murray are rewarded for provocation, not quality of thought. White supremacists step up recruiting on campus, report says. Don’t blame politics for the crisis at American colleges: Campus life has been increasingly riled by controversies over perceived offenses — an administrative culture is partly responsible.