College Matters from The Chronicle

Latest Episodes:

This Prof Wants to Win Back the GOP Bros May 06, 2025

Show notes

Nothing animates conservative college students today quite like Turning Point USA. Founded by Charlie Kirk, the right-wing provocateur, the group thrives on an “owning the libs” mentality that is often trained on left-leaning professors. But this brand of conservatism, while big on bellicose taunts, is short on the foundational ideas that have made conservatism such a lasting intellectual tradition. At least that’s the view of Jon Shields, a right-leaning professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. For conservatism to thrive in the future, Shields argues, professors of all political stripes should help teach the MAGA crowd about Edmund Burke and the other big thinkers who have long provided the conservative movement with meaningful ballast.

Liberal Professors Can Rescue the G.O.P. (The New York Times)

Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence (The Chronicle)

The Battle for the Bros (The New Yorker)

Guest:

Jon Shields, professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Inside the Education Dept. Purge Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, an agency that Republicans say is too wasteful and too woke. Through a series of layoffs and buyouts, the Trump administration has reduced the agency’s work force by roughly half. The broader goal, administration officials say, is to return more power to the states and to cut down on government waste. But the cuts have left many people concerned about the department’s capacity to carry out its vital functions, like enforcing civil-rights laws. The great purge at the agency has spread fear among employees, upended hundreds of lives, and left some to conclude that the whole point of this operation has been to intimidate and control government workers.

What the Education Dept.’s Job Cuts Could Mean for Financial Aid

Protesters Rally Against Education Dept. Cuts

Guests:

Anthony Badial-Luna, management and program analyst at the Education Department

Kaitlyn Vitez, higher-education liaison at the Education Department

Christopher Madaio, former director of the Investigations Group in the Education Department’s enforcement unit; senior adviser at The Institute for College Access & Success

Elizabeth Morrow, a deputy director at the Office of Public Engagement for Non-Discrimination in the Office for Civil Rights

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Student Visa War ‘Should Shock and Terrify’ Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to deport student protesters. In recent weeks, the president has delivered on that pledge. The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of international students' visas across the country, spreading fear on college campuses and inviting constitutional challenges from lawyers and activists. Eric Lee, an immigration lawyer, says the administration’s actions are unconstitutional. One of his clients, Momodou Taal, a Cornell University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, recently decided to leave the United States rather than face detention and deportation. What’s happening, Lee says, is a threat to the free speech rights of citizens and noncitizens alike.

Pro-Palestinian Activists Shut Down a Job Fair. One Student’s Punishment Could Get Him Deported.

Trump has Revoked Student Visas at Dozens of Colleges. Here’s What That Means.

Guest:

Eric Lee, immigration lawyer

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

The GOP Loves Western Civ Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

Over the past decade, centers and institutes devoted to the study of Western civilization and American civics have popped up on numerous public university campuses. Typically backed by conservative lawmakers, versions of this concept have taken root at universities in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. In Texas, an entirely new private university, the University of Austin, now offers students a curriculum steeped in the study of Western thought.

At a recent live taping at SXSW EDU, Jack Stripling, host of College Matters, talked with Jacob Howland, the University of Austin’s provost, and Pauline Strong, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about what this growing trend says about the politics of higher education.

We Can’t Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We’re Starting a New One. (Free Press)

Billionaires Back New ‘Anti-Woke’ University (The Wall Street Journal)

A New Birth of Freedom in Higher Education: Civics Institutes at Public Universities (AEI)

Guests:

Jacob Howland, provost and dean of intellectual foundations at the University of Austin

Pauline Strong, director of the Program in Native American and Indigenous Studies and a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. Strong is president of the American Association of University Professors' chapter at UT Austin.

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Why Parking Drives Us Mad Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Buckle up, and get ready to lay on your horn. We’re taking a drive through the enraging, labyrinthine, and often misunderstood world of college-campus parking. Along the way, we’ll meet a college instructor who complained about parking fees, only to pay more than he’d ever imagined; a parking administrator who promises she’s not evil; and a writer who may have unmasked the real villain in higher ed’s tortured parking story.

He lost His Job After Complaining About Parking. Now He’s Been Reinstated.

Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World

Guests:

Nell Gluckman, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

Adrienne Tucker, director of parking and transportation at Kansas State University

Henry Grabar, staff writer at Slate and author

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Faculty vs. Administration Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

We’re hearing a lot lately about a war on higher education, as the Trump administration targets colleges on multiple fronts. On a lot of campuses, though, the biggest battle is an endless feud between faculty and administrators. Professors and presidents seem to be at loggerheads over everything, including curriculum debates, online education, and academic freedom. How did we get here? And is it really as bad as it looks?

Related Reading:

Guest:

Lee Gardner, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Higher Ed Controversy Draft Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

If you follow higher education like we do, you know that the sector is ripe for controversy. From misused money, to smoking-gun emails, to the occasional sex scandal, colleges and universities routinely make news for all the wrong reasons. But what makes for a delicious higher-ed controversy? And what can be learned from the embarrassing failures of otherwise respectable institutions? To dig into those questions, Chronicle staffers gathered recently for a first-of-its-kind higher-education controversy draft. Who built the best roster? That’s for you to decide.

Related Reading:

Uproar at Mount St. Mary’s (Chronicle)
Is That Our Chancellor in the Porno (College Matters podcast)
Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics’ Amatuer Ideal (Andy Thomason)
Auburn President’s Permanent No Comment (Inside Higher Ed)

Guests:

Sarah Brown, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education
Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

A War on ‘Woke’ Classes Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

Public colleges and universities across Florida have scrambled to comply with a new law that supporters see as a bulwark against the liberal indoctrination of students. The law prohibits core general-education courses that teach “identity politics” or those “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States.” The law has forced colleges to scrutinize hundreds of courses in their catalogues, pressure testing whether anything they teach runs afoul of this sweeping new regulation of college curricula. Proponents of the law say it’s an overdue corrective to general-education offerings, which have ballooned on campuses across the country. But critics worry that the legislation signals a perilous encroachment on faculty control over curricula, creating political litmus tests for what students are allowed to learn in core courses.

Related Reading:

The Curricular Cull: Inside a Sweeping Attempt to Regulate Gen Ed in Florida (The Chronicle)
Professors Ruined Gen Ed. Florida Is Fixing It. (The Review)
Florida’s Nakedly Ideological Attack on Gen Ed (The Review)
What Is Happening in Florida? (The Chronicle)

Guest: Emma Pettit, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Disappearing White Student Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

When it comes to college enrollment, admissions officers and civil-rights advocates often talk about historically underrepresented groups, including Black and Latino students. But white-student enrollment has dropped 19 percent since 2018 — more than any other racial group. People in higher education often seem reluctant to talk about it.

Related Reading:

Where are the White Students? (The Chronicle)
Affluent White Students are Skipping College, and No One Knows Why (The Chronicle)

Guests:

Daarel Burnette II , senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education
Katherine Mangan, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Sports Betting Goes to College Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

March Madness season will soon be upon us, bringing with it another grand American tradition: an annual college-sports-betting bonanza. A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down what had been a near-national ban on sports betting, ushering in a wave of legalized gambling legislation across the country. For colleges and universities, the changing sports-betting landscape brings new risks and potentially lucrative financial returns.