In Case You Missed It
In a new op-ed at Inside Higher Ed, IHS President Emily Chamlee‑Wright argues that America’s universities must confront the challenge of reclaiming their Enlightenment foundations in the face of mounting political pressure and threats to academic freedom. She warns that institutions have undermined themselves through missteps, such as punishing dissent and yielding to ideological conformity, which has eroded their credibility and opened the door to state interference.
“This campaign to assert government control is bad for the academy, but it’s even worse for liberal democracy. Despite the political challenges facing higher ed, or rather, in light of those challenges, it’s critical that scholars, academic leaders and students reclaim what seems to have been forgotten—that the modern university is a living legacy of Enlightenment-era liberalism, the tradition that champions political liberty, constitutional constraints on power, freedom of thought and evidence-based reasoning.”
Chamlee‑Wright calls for universities to not merely resist, but also reform by “owning our mistakes,” reaffirming their core values, and placing leaders in roles of integrity and courage. This reclamation of intellectual openness, curiosity, and institutional humility is critical not just for academia, but for the future of liberal democracy.
Read the full essay here: “Higher Ed Must Recommit to Its Enlightenment Roots.”
