Reforms We’re Cheering For in 2026

Every December, the staff of the Martin Center share our higher-ed-reform dreams for the coming 12 months. Some are obvious; others are fanciful. We offer them all here in a spirit of optimism, for the reader’s enjoyment and edification.

The Founding Fathers are a source of insight and wisdom that should be drawn on more frequently. Their writings on liberty and natural rights shed light on questions of human dignity. Their example of simultaneous restraint and boldness in the appropriate contexts provides a model of leadership. And their educational vision adds clarity to the purpose of higher education.

The new year 2026 will continue to present challenges to colleges and universities. Difficult decisions will have to be made regarding a shrinking student population, programs that yield poor returns on investment, and an overall decline in Americans’ confidence in the value of a college education. When navigating this challenging landscape, it can be easy to lose sight of higher education’s core mission.

For guidance, college leaders should pull a page or two out of the Founders’ handbook. Especially in anticipation of the upcoming Semiquincentennial, the Founders’ writings on higher education should be closely studied. The Founders, in particular, valued the liberal arts for their ability to prepare students for civic life. George Washington, for example, believed that “liberal knowledge” was “necessary to qualify our citizens for the exigencies of public, as well as private life.” He again emphasized higher education’s civic mission in his Eighth Annual Message, in which he advocated for a national university:

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The Founding Fathers are a source of insight and wisdom that should be drawn on more frequently

Fixing our financial system fixes many society ailments. Get back to honest money, equal weights and measures.

“Paper is Poverty”
Thomas Jefferson

ALL paper currencies create inflation and eventually go to zero...as will the thin air, electron “ monies”, and other financial fads.

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