Free Republic

[Editor’s note: Earlier this month, University of Austin provost Jacob Howland delivered remarks to the new institution’s inaugural faculty. The Martin Center is pleased to present the following (lightly edited) transcript of his talk.] Today, August 12, 2024, is the birthday of the University of Austin. This is the very first meeting of the assembled faculty and the first day of the first faculty orientation in the history of UATX. Today we begin to form our academic culture and to prepare for the arrival of our first class of undergraduates. “Don’t you know,” Socrates asks when he first takes up...

Intelligent observers of American higher education know that colleges generally are in great trouble: falling enrollments, declining public and political support, often dubious outcomes, and excessive tuition and other costs. Most depressing, the traditional tolerance of widespread viewpoints and commitment to free expression seem to have declined substantially. While one finds a few encouraging stories dealing with these issues at existing colleges and universities, the overall picture is bleak. It seems that current institutions are doing too little, if anything, to fix the problem. At many, the outlook is palpably worsening. In the competitive, free-market, private-business sector, lags in innovation...