Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education gathers faculty, administrators, and members of the public to reflect on how the university should respond to ongoing threats towards democratic values and principles. We critically examine the current political debates surrounding higher education to identify areas for intervention. We also embrace a view of the university as a place where different ideas come together, and we seek to promote democracy on our campuses while remaining non-partisan and engaging a diverse range of viewpoints.
Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education believes that the university has a responsibility to defend the fundamental tenets of liberal democracy in the face of attacks – whether election denialism or legislative attempts to limit what can be taught within its classrooms.
Furthermore, we intend to uphold the value of the university as an institution and its contributions to society during a time of increasing antipathy towards higher education, media and U.S. institutions more generally. This does not mean shying away from criticism from stakeholders across the political spectrum, but engaging with these criticisms, thereby moving away from the polarized views dominating the current discourse.
Liberal democracy and higher education are interdependent. Higher education cannot pursue the creation of knowledge and the education of our students without the academic freedom ensured by a democratic system, and democracy needs critics who are able to respond to the political debates of the current moment from the perspectives of academic disciplines—from biology to sociology, from history to cultural studies. If democracy is the body in which all American institutions must function, higher education is one of its vital organs.
Director
Eric Mlyn is a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics and Lecturer at Duke’s Sanford School for Public Policy, and the Director of KIE’s Democracy and Higher Education project. Prior to joining KIE, he was the founding Executive Director of DukeEngage and also served as the Assistant Vice Provost for Civic Engagement. Before that, he was the founding director of the Robertson Scholars Program and served on the Political Science Faculty of UNC-Chapel Hill. Mlyn also chairs Duke’s Global Travel Advisory Committee. His intellectual interests focus on the role of higher education in fostering democracy and working with undergraduates to foster political and civic engagement. He holds a BA in Political Science from Tufts University and a PHD in Political Science from the University of Minnesota. During the fall of 2019 he was a senior fellow at the Tisch College for Civic Life at Tufts. He is the Co-Editor with Amanda Moore McBride of the book Connecting Social Innovation and Civic Engagement: Toward Higher Education’s Democratic Promise (2020).
Featured Work
October 2024: Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education organized a webinar – When Universities are the “Enemy”: Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of American Higher Education. Panelists included Dr. John A. Douglass, Dr. Don Moynihan, and Dr. Ellen Schrecker. The webinar unpacked the threats authoritarian regimes pose to academic freedom, the challenges faced by educators, and the vital role higher education must play in resisting anti-democratic forces. Watch the recording here.
The Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education project hosts regular conferences as well as other gatherings.
2024-5
Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education organized a conference in collaboration with The George Washington University Law School that took place in Washington, DC, on June 24 and 25, 2024, titled “The Federal Government and the Politics of American Higher Education.” Bringing together academics, policymakers, and politicians from across the political spectrum, the conference addressed topics such as academic freedom and the mission of the university as well as the federal government’s role in higher education and the right’s plans for 2025. See the conference program here.
2023-4
Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education organized a conference on December 1 and 2, 2023, titled “Americans Politics and State Higher Education.” Panels addressed the following topics: case studies in the politics of higher education from the University of North Carolina and University of Wisconsin systems, as well as The New College of Florida; academic freedom at public universities; the role of state governments in the governance of public universities; and freedom of expression for students across the political spectrum. See the conference program here.
In spring 2023, we hosted a conversation series at Duke amongst colleagues to engage respectful and honest conversations about some of the most contentious and difficult issues faced by higher education at this time of democratic peril and extreme political polarization.
2022-3
In fall 2022 we held a roundtable conversation with Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University, on the role of university leadership in national and campus politics.
This project has its origins in a conference on Democracy and American Higher Education held in the spring of 2022. See the conference program here.
Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education hosts regular webinars and talks as well.
2024-5
October 2024 – When Universities are the “Enemy”: Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of American Higher Education. Watch the recording here.
2023-4
October 2023 – Threats to Higher Education: The Conservative Assault on Public Higher Education. Watch the recording here.
Past
In April 2023, we held our first webinar on Threats to Higher Education in Florida. Watch the recording here.
Director Eric Mlyn has been featured in several panel discussions as well. He spoke on a panel hosted by Duke’s Office for Faculty Advancement on Navigating Sensitive Topics in Your Teaching and Research Spaces in December 2023.
Eric Mlyn also spoke on a panel on Censorship in Medical Education & The Humanities in April 2023.
Eric Mlyn delivered a talk in March 2023 on Navigating the Politics of Higher Education as a special guest of the NC Campus Engagement Presidents Forum.
The project on Democracy and the Politics of American Higher Education previously hosted a newsletter. Past editions are available:
“Plans for 2025,” April 2024
“What’s going on with higher ed?” March 2024
“Now More than Ever: A Newsletter that Explores Democracy and American Higher Education,” October 2023
Organizations
- American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
- Coalition for Carolina
- Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
- Heterodox Academy
- Historians for Peace and Democracy
- National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement at University of California
- Open Society University Network
- PEN America
Political Strategy
- AAUP report by Isaac Kamola, “Manufacturing Backlash: Right-Wing Think Tanks and Legislative Attacks on Higher Education, 2021–2023,” May 2024
- D. Vance speech, “The Universities are the Enemy,” November 2021
- PEN America report, “Educational Gag Orders,” November 2021
- Steven Brint, “The Political Machine Behind the War on Academic Freedom,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 2023
- Steven Brint, “Trump and His Allies Are Preparing to Overhaul Higher Education,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2024
- “What Will Trump’s Second Victory Mean for Higher Ed?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 2024
Viewpoint Diversity
- Heterodox Academy guide, “Reclaiming the Culture of Higher Education: A Best Practices Guide,” September 2022
- Short entries, “The Professoriate’s Politics Problem: Conservatives are rare in academe. Does it matter?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 2024
- Steven M. Teles, “Why Are There So Few Conservative Professors?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 2024
Rankings and Ratings
- College Pulse and FIRE, “2025 College Free Speech Rankings”
- John K. Wilson, “Why the College Free Speech Rankings Are Worthless,” Academe Blog, October 2020
- Ryan D. Enos, “Harvard Last in Free Speech? Don’t Trust FIRE’s Rankings,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 2024
- The Heritage Foundation college ratings, “Choose College with Confidence”
Free Speech and Academic Freedom
- PEN America, “Campus Free Speech Guide”
- Louis Menand, “Academic Freedom Under Fire,” The New Yorker, April 2024
- Joan Scott, “On Free Speech and Academic Freedom,” AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom, Volume 8, 2017
Leadership and The Question of Institutional Neutrality
- Adrienne Lu, “The Apolitical University,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 2022
- Harvard University statement, “Report on Institutional Voice in the University,” May 2024
- Holden Thorpe, “The Charade of Political Neutrality,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 2022
- Michael Roth, “The Campus Protests Over Gaza Are All Part of a Good Education,” The New Republic, September 2024
- Michael Roth, “I’m a College President, and I Hope My Campus Is Even More Political This Year,” The New York Times, September 2024
- PEN America initiative, “Champions of Higher Education”
Mapping, Tracking, and Archiving
- Historians for Peace and Democracy archive, “The Culture Wars Against Education,” December 2023
- PEN America tracker, “Index of Educational Gag Orders”
- The Chronicle of Higher Education trackers, “The Assault on DEI”