Free Republic

Major U.S. universities have received millions of dollars in funding from foreign entities that are on U.S. government watch lists, according to a CBS News review of university funding records submitted to the Department of Education. State Department and Education Department officials say the disclosure forms, which have not been previously reported, show a combined $27.6 million received in roughly the second half of last year by dozens of top American research institutions that originated from entities appearing on at least one federal government watch list. There are 10 cautionary and restricted watch lists overseen by the departments of Treasury,...

Third Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated medical professor’s case after judge threw out defamation claims A federal appeals court reinstated a medical professor’s defamation and civil rights retaliation case against the University of Pittsburgh last week over an article he wrote criticizing affirmative action. “I have devoted my career to caring for patients, training the next generation of physicians, and contributing to scholarship within my field. When I published this article, I was doing the same thing,” Dr. Norman Wang said in a statement after the ruling. In its July 7 opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided that...

An appeals court on Tuesday ruled that part of Florida’s law restricting how race and gender are taught in classrooms, specifically provisions restricting how those topics are taught in colleges, violates free speech rights. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit determined part of the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees Act, or Stop WOKE Act, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2022 is unlawful. The law was designed to restrict public universities, K-12 schools and private workplaces from promoting certain concepts related to racism, gender and systemic privilege. This week’s...

The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case about whether a university professor has legal standing to sue his employer after being forced to take diversity, equity and inclusion training courses. Arizona’s highest court will hear oral arguments in Anderson v. Arizona Board of Regents on Sept. 1. Arizona State University professor Owen Anderson, who teaches philosophy and religious studies, sued the Arizona Board of Regents in 2024 over being required to complete DEI training. Anderson previously told The Center Square that the DEI training he had to take singled out white skin “as something that could be...

A 19-year-old Indian student who scammed his way into a top US university spoke about his “very structured fraud” in a Reddit post which ultimately led to his downfall. Aryan Anand falsified documents and even faked his father’s death to secure admission at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania on a full scholarship. His carefully structured scam unravelled after he bragged about it in an anonymous Reddit post. In the confession titled “I have built my life and career on lies and fraud,” Anand revealed how he faked his Class 12 boards degree, his school principal’s email address and his father’s death...

College is extraordinarily expensive and becoming less useful, and those who insist otherwise are working from a model of the labor market that stopped describing reality sometime in the 1990s. Four-year courses at private institutions often cost more than $70,000 a year, and it should come as no surprise that student debt has tipped over $1 trillion . This situation is ridiculous for a film student, but it is also ridiculous for a computer science graduate whose program could not keep pace with the industry it was preparing him for – and who learned more in four months on GitHub...

Why do public university officials do the things they do? What drives their decisions to allocate scarce resources in some ways and not others? In his recent book The University Unfettered, Ian F. McNeely offers a lot of insight into those questions. McNeely is a former (and current) faculty member and administrator, and he’s writing about his experiences at a state flagship university. He doesn’t say which one, although it’s easy to figure it out if you want to. But which state flagship doesn’t really matter, as there’s nothing unique about “The University” and those who run it. It is...

A self-described Muslim university operating in North Texas is facing a lawsuit from the State of Texas over allegations it illegally offered unapproved degrees while misleading prospective students about its legitimacy and ties to Texas A&M University. Filed Monday in Collin County district court, the lawsuit targets Texas American Muslim University—also referred to as “TexAM”—along with administrators Shahid A. Bajwa, Bilal Piracha, and Arsalan Shahzad. The state is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions as well as more than $1 million in civil penalties. According to the petition, TexAM operated as an unlicensed and unaccredited “university” despite never receiving authorization from...

Hamilton School to roll out new degree in ‘war, statecraft, and strategy’ A classical-based school within the University of Florida recently graduated its first three students – and the pipeline is growing even larger. The Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education, first established in summer 2022 with a $3 million infusion from the Florida legislature, has continued to grow in the past four years. The school’s “Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law” major now has 146 enrolled students, according to Professor Brandon Warmke. The Hamilton School also offers a major in “Great Books and Ideas” and beginning this fall “will...

Officials with the Texas A&M University System have formally objected to the use of the “TexAM University” name by a North Texas Islamic educational entity already facing a state order to cease operations. In a cease-and-desist letter issued Friday, the Texas A&M University System demanded that the Richardson-based organization immediately stop using names, trademarks, domains, and branding elements that officials say infringe upon or dilute Texas A&M’s trademarks. The entity, which brands itself as “TexAM University” or “Texas American Muslim University at Dallas,” has promoted itself as an Islamic-centered institution offering STEM coursework integrated with Islamic studies. According to the...

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has ordered a Richardson-based institution calling itself “Texas American Muslim University at Dallas” to immediately cease operations, saying it has been illegally offering higher education programs in Texas without state authorization. The “TexAM University at Dallas” or “Texas American Muslim University” (TexAM) has been marketing itself as a new Islamic-centered university offering STEM degree programs combined with mandatory Islamic studies coursework. According to a letter sent by the coordinating board, TexAM has never received the required Certificate of Authority from the state to operate or grant degrees in Texas under Chapter 61 of the...

A University of Alabama student apparently picked the wrong ex-girlfriend to allegedly beat up — when the victim’s dad, a Long Island cop, showed up the next day on his porch and had things to say that got him arrested as well. Ryan DellaFranco, 20, allegedly attacked his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend inside his off-campus apartment, according to the Tuscaloosa Police Department, news outlets reported. Police have been tight-lipped about the details, but not social media, according to the New York Post, which featured one online account in its coverage. “He slammed her head into a toilet and was over top of...

A suspect was arrested after allegedly running a secret meth lab at Michigan State University’s Wells Hall, the institution's largest academic building. Xin Tong, 31, is facing felony charges in connection with the alleged operation, as well as misdemeanor trespassing, according to police. Officers responded earlier this week to Wells Hall over reports of a suspicious person, a strong odor and unknown substances on the floor, WILX reported. Officers found Tong and confirmed his identity by using his expired MSU student ID. Tong was in possession of multiple bags, which officers later searched through after obtaining a search warrant, discovering...

A Canadian university is advertising five research positions, but applicants must be a part of the LGBTQ+ community to apply. Memorial University of Newfoundland posted five new Canada Research Chair (CRC) positions that are open to current employees of the liberal arts school, but there's a catch. In order to be eligible to apply, the applicant has to be a member of an equity group, including the 2SLGBTQIA+ people, a woman, Indigenous, a racialized person, or a disabled, according to the job postings viewed by the Daily Mail. The five-to-seven-year gig, which pays up to $200,000 CAD ($145,000 USD) annually,...

Iconic Leftist Hampshire College Permanently Closing at End of the Year “Despite pursuing a financial sustainability plan and raising more than $55 million through its Change in the Making campaign, efforts in enrollment growth, debt refinancing and land development did not yield a viable path forward.” The trustees of Hampshire College have voted to close the school after the fall semester of 2026. This marks the end of a process that began a few years ago when the school began to face the possibility of such a decision. Located in central Massachusetts, Hampshire College is a progressive institution that makes...

The defiant president of the University of Wisconsin system has resisted calls for his resignation, risking expulsion, but he’s been given no reason for his impending termination. Jay Rothman, the head of the public Badger State higher-education network since 2022, shot back at the board of regents last month for him to resign or retire from the post after a “unidentified majority” had lost confidence in his leadership. The former chairman and CEO for Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner LLP rejected the board’s threat that they were “prepared to terminate my employment despite all that has been accomplished,” he said in...

A heroic ROTC student fatally stabbed the crazed gunman who opened fire inside an Old Dominion University classroom Thursday, preventing further carnage, law enforcement sources said. Shooter Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, gunned down an instructor before the unidentified cadet jumped into action during the frantic scene on the Virginia college campus, according to sources. Jalloh, who was previously convicted of trying to support ISIS, walked into the classroom and asked if it was an ROTC class, sources told The Post. When someone told him it was, he began his trail of bloodshed, which the FBI is investigating as an act...

Ella Cook vigil Vigil held for students killed at Brown University. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Ella Cook, of Mountain Brook, identified as a victim. ************************************************************************** The Mountain Brook woman who was killed in the Brown University shooting was the vice president of the school's Republican club and was likely targeted, according to multiple sources. Ella Cook was one of two shot and killed on Saturday while studying with a group of students. "We are devastated to learn of the loss of our Brown College Republicans Vice President, Ella Cook," the club's president, Martin Bertao, stated. "Ella was known for her bold,...

One of my consistent themes is that in the post-Christian West, sexual pleasure and hedonism have been elevated to the highest human good. Human beings are driven to ask, "What is the meaning of life," and when God exits stage left, what usually replaces Him is "pleasure." That's natural, of course, since pleasure by its nature is self-reinforcing. "If it feels good, do it" is hardly revolutionary, despite what the hippies said. Without religion, human beings struggle to come up with reasons to deny our darkest desires without appealing to moral standards that are generally rooted in religion, or at...

The greed and naiveté of our institutions could play into the hands of the Chinese surveillance state It goes by an innocuous name – “Integrated Joint Operations Platform” (IJOP) – but it’s one of the most sinister components of China’s surveillance state, managing what has been described as a genocide against the Uighurs. The IJOP combines multiple systems of repression – location, messages, contacts, social media and other data from phones, together with information from checkpoints, cameras and biometric records. It then flags “suspicious” individuals for detention and forced labor. Now leading US universities have been accused of extensive...