Metal arch with the name Northwestern University sits atop white stone columns with a backdrop of trees with green and orange leaves.

Why I am Suing Northwestern University—and the United States House of Representatives, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy

BY STEVEN W. THRASHER On July 20, I filed a lawsuit against Northwestern University and—in his official capacity as Chairman of the US House of Representatives House Committee on Education and the Workforce— Michigan Congressman Tim Walberg.  The suit is also against various actors in the federal government who have pressured Northwestern, including Secretary of Education…

A yellow folder labeled "DEMOCRACY" with "CENSORED" stamped in red on it, framed by American flags

Who Will Tell America’s 250-Year Story?

BY EILEEN BORIS AND KRISTIN AHLBERG In an interview with journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Donald Trump claimed to be a great man, on par with world-shattering figures like Mao, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, and Genghis Khan—or so a “presidential historian” told him. That this presidential historian was the caddy for golfing star Gary Player…

Two robot students in front of a whiteboard with a mechanical diagram on it

A Modest Proposal to Train Artificial Intelligences, Too

BY KEVIN W. CAPEHART In the last century, higher education evolved from serving an elite few to schooling a slightly broader swath of students. Yet even in the twenty-first century, too many universities remain too focused on trying to train only one kind of intelligence, human intelligence. In doing so, universities are discriminating against artificial…

Illustration of two hands, one human and one electronic, each touching one half of a brain

Why Accuracy Alone Is Not Enough

BY PRISCILLA JEBARATNAM Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming workplace practices, including how employee performance is assessed. Organizations are increasingly adopting AI-enabled evaluation systems because they promise greater consistency, efficiency, and objectivity. But an important question remains: Do more accurate evaluations automatically lead employees to perceive them as fair? A recent rapid evidence assessment examining…

Blue background with a white stick figure falling through two white lines, with a hand outstretched to catch it

The Floor Is Being Removed: SACSCOC, Auburn, and the Dismantling of Faculty Governance

BY GRANT A. MINCY Last year, when Tennessee’s HB2194 threatened to eliminate faculty peer review from tenure termination proceedings across the Tennessee Board of Regents system, those of us challenging the bill had a meaningful argument available: The bill created accreditation risk. SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation—especially principle 6.4 on academic freedom and principle 6.5 on…

Academic Freedom and Democratic Governance for Learned Societies Too

BY DANIEL A. SEGAL We—meaning both faculty and the AAUP—know that when our teaching and research disturb powerful interests, we risk repression on our campuses from administrators, trustees, donors, and elected office holders. This has certainly been the case in recent years in the context of both the second Trump administration and widespread efforts to…

Why Connecticut Must Anchor the Future of Research

BY ION MORARU, NEENA QASBA, AND MARK MACIEJEWSKI This op-ed was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror on June 16, 2026. Two Connecticut chapters successfully pushed the state legislature and governor to backfill $35 million in state funds to offset federal research cuts at the University of Connecticut and its academic medical center. Read the…