America’s elite universities are bloated, complacent and illiberal
To keep its competitive edge the Ivy League will have to change
THE STRUGGLE over America’s elite universities—who controls them and how they are run—continues to rage, with lasting consequences for them and the country. Harvard faces a congressional investigation into antisemitism; Columbia has just been hit with a lawsuit alleging “endemic” hostility towards Jews. Top colleges are under mounting pressure to reintroduce rigorous test-based admissions policies, after years of backsliding on meritocracy. And it is likely that the cosy tax breaks these gilded institutions enjoy will soon attract greater scrutiny. Behind all this lies a big question. Can American universities, flabby with cash and blighted by groupthink, keep their competitive edge?
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This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Poisoned Ivy”
From the March 9th 2024 edition
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