"The president of Connecticut’s Wesleyan University wrote a piece in Slate that described some of the Trump administration’s rhetoric as authoritarian. He consistently reposts articles criticizing Trump’s decisions. He speaks and blogs firmly in defense of diversity, equity and inclusion, transgender rights and immigration...

"When I asked Roth whether he was nervous about agreeing to my interview request, he laughed.

"'I laugh because of course I’m nervous,' he said. 'This is an administration that is prioritizing loyalty and attacking people who stand, not against them necessarily, but for their own ideals and missions. That is the authoritarian playbook. If I were hiding — Wesleyan is a small school — maybe they would never notice us.'

"He added, 'But that’s how tyranny gets instituted in a country. … I’m a professor, a teacher. I don’t look for trouble. But I would feel ashamed if I didn’t speak up for the values that have guided my institution and many others.'"
https://wapo.st/3ENVtxX

As campus protests continue and their encampments expand here at #WesleyanUniversity and beyond, President Michael Roth spoke with #PBS #NewsHour about the measured approach academic institutions can take in this moment. #HigherEd #Israel #Gaza #protest https://www-pbs-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/biden-condemns-violence-and-disorder-as-some-college-protests-escalate-into-confrontations

Elizabeth McAlister, #WesleyanUniversity professor of Religion and African American Studies, leads “Theorizing Religion with Zombies,” a popular course that harnesses the #zombie as an entry point to a range of themes, from the #apocalypse and #resurrection to #capitalism and race and gender theory. https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/10/25/professor-elizabeth-mcalister-explores-our-undying-attraction-to-the-undead-in-theorizing-religion-with-zombies/ #highered #academia

#WesleyanUniversity and #SarahLawrenceCollege were featured on the #PBS #NewsHour last night, in this story about the aftermath of the #SCOTUS decision further restricting/eliminating #AffirmativeAction. Both schools voluntarily ended #LegacyAdmissions in response.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn9SfF1KK8E
—
#college #HigherEd #admissions

Happy to have #WesleyanUniversity President Michael S. Roth continue speaking out on the importance of #diversity on college campuses. Tonight on #PBS News Hour: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/colleges-rethink-legacy-admissions-in-the-wake-of-decision-against-affirmative-action #highered #scotus

#WesleyanUniversity will no longer include loans as part of its financial aid packages. “When students complete Wesleyan degrees, their career and life choices should be guided by their passions and talents, and not by the necessity of paying off loans.” https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/09/28/no-loans-wesleyan-university-removes-barriers-to-affording-higher-education/ #highered #financialaid

I spoke with #WesleyanUniversity President Michael S. Roth ahead of today’s publication of his newest book, “The Student: A Short History.” He hopes the book’s readers will see that “learning is a form of freedom and that we should protect our access to learning in our own lives, and the lives of our families, and fellow citizens.” Here’s a bit of our conversation for the university. https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/09/11/finding-freedom-through-learning-president-roth-explores-the-history-of-being-a-student/ #highered #academia #students #education #books

"Young people today are accused of being censorious, illiberal and careerist—as well as 'woke.' This is all part of the long, cliche-ridden history of accusing the young of failing to live up to an older generation’s idea of the student." — #WesleyanUniversity's President Michael S. Roth in the @latimes https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-09-09/student-protests-colleges-speech-diversity-equity-history #highered #studentprotest

In the wake of the recent #SupremeCourt decision regarding affirmative action, #WesleyanUniversity has formally ended admission preference for “legacy applicants.” More in today's The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/us/wesleyan-university-ends-legacy-admissions.html #highered

#ChatGPT signals a fraught new era for the written word. But instead of doomsaying over the potential for plagiarism in #HigherEd, #WesleyanUniversity faculty, staff, and students are working toward a better understanding of #writing in the age of robots. https://magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/06/15/ghost-in-the-machine/ #academia

“The direct pathway to freedom was education, and nothing made that more apparent than attempts to block it. Freedom here meant much more than economic independence; it signified being recognized fully as a human being.” —#WesleyanUniversity President Michael S. Roth on #SCOTUS today in #Salon https://www.salon.com/2023/07/06/colleges-must-now-fight-back-on-affirmative-action-is-anti-freedom/ #HigherEd #AffirmativeAction #history #SupremeCourt

“Getting the word out to students where they are is going to be even more important, given the court’s ruling…We just have to work really hard to not fall into a homogeneous campus.” — #WesleyanUniversity President #MichaelRoth in the #BostonGlobe https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/01/metro/after-high-courts-ruling-affirmative-action-colleges-confront-daunting-next-steps-admissions/ #SupremeCourt #AffirmativeAction #HigherEd

“At a time when #ReproductiveFreedom is being threatened around the country, #WesleyanUniversity is dedicated to providing students with support for free emergency #contraception or for the decision to terminate a #pregnancy.” https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/wesleyan-university-to-cover-cost-for-students-seeking-abortions-contraception/3027795/ #highered #roevwade #connecticut

“The core idea behind action teaching is that it contributes to peace, social justice, and sustainable living at the same time that it educates students,” according to #WesleyanUniversity’s Scott Plous.

Action teaching complements Wesleyan’s mission of empowering #students to go out into the world and be changemakers—whether they study the arts, sciences, or some combination of both. #highered #teaching #academia http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/04/11/the-impact-of-action-teaching/

A #biochemist with a self-described “#neuroscience problem,” #WesleyanUniversity Professor Alison O’Neil is combating #Alzheimer’s with a novel approach that bridges the sciences—and starts with a thousand tiny #brains. https://magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/02/26/a-brain-for-alzheimers/ #highered #science

“Word of mouth is how bank runs have always begun, according to Richard Grossman, who researches #banking #history at ⁦‪#WesleyanUniversity. A rumor — true or not — creates chaos.” ⁦‪#Marketplace‬⁩ https://www.marketplace.org/2023/03/17/behind-svbs-collapse-are-a-whole-lot-of-texts-on-messaging-groups/

“#DeSantis is a menace to American #HigherEducation. His call to “reform” colleges and universities may be an effective political strategy for marshalling the forces of resentment, but his plan to shift the locus of decision-making about what is taught on campus to state legislators and governors would be a disaster. If he is successful, even the hiring of professors will be controlled by politicians.” — #WesleyanUniversity President Michael Roth

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/university-leaders-must-defend-freedom-against-desantis-overreach

“In America today, academic freedom once again needs its defenders—people who know that learning requires freedom from intimidation and #censorship while also demanding openness and attentiveness. The combination of qualities that constitute #AcademicFreedom may seem idealistic to some, but for us at Wesleyan it is the practical idealism at the heart of liberal #education.” —Michael Roth, #WesleyanUniversity President
http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/02/16/statement-on-academic-freedom-2/ #HigherEd

“In America today, academic freedom once again needs its defenders—people who know that learning requires freedom from intimidation and #censorship while also demanding openness and attentiveness. The combination of qualities that constitute academic freedom may seem idealistic to some, but for us at Wesleyan it is the practical idealism at the heart of liberal #education.” —#WesleyanUniversity’s President Michael S. Roth #HigherEd #academia http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2023/02/16/statement-on-academic-freedom-2/

“#HigherEducation in the United States can be pragmatic without being conformist, and liberal #education can inspire #students to think for themselves in ways that include learning from people with views different from their own.” — #WesleyanUniversity President Michael S. Roth in today’s #WashingtonPost

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/05/liberal-arts-education-is-pragmatic/