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George Leef

George Leef

Forbes

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Understanding the Founders Through Their Books

Leftists would have us believe that the Founders were a bunch of greedy white racists whose only concern in establishing the United States was to...

yesterday 1

National Review

George Leef

Glimmers of Hope in Higher Ed

In a few states, schools and programs focused on teaching civics have arisen, giving students an alternative to the steady drumbeat of America-bashing...

friday 3

National Review

George Leef

Great Books Programs Aren’t for Everyone

Many who reject progressive ideology embrace the concept of great books education as a counter to the leftist project of getting students to hate our...

friday 3

National Review

George Leef

Student Writing Skills and the Best Uses of AI

Most students these days are tempted to use artificial intelligence to do their work for them, merely cutting and pasting what they see on their...

06.08.2026 3

National Review

George Leef

The School for Civic Life Is an Asset to UNC

When it was announced a few years ago that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was going to create the School for Civic Life and...

03.08.2026 8

National Review

George Leef

When Academics Deny Reality

There’s an old saying that goes: “an idea so ridiculous only an academic could believe it.” It seems to apply frequently as more professors sink...

31.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Too Much Foreign Influence in American Higher Education

Several foreign governments have invested heavily in our colleges and universities, intent on influencing students and the public in general into...

30.07.2026 8

National Review

George Leef

A Surprising Defeat for Race-Based Scholarships

When the Supreme Court ruled against race-based college admissions in 2023, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that it was time to eliminate racial...

29.07.2026 4

National Review

George Leef

Department of Education Moves Away from ‘Disparate Impact’

“Disparate impact” is the idea that when normal, rational processes of hiring and promotion don’t yield exactly the right percentages of people...

27.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Why Not Combine Liberal Arts and Occupational Education?

For some absurd reason, Americans came to believe that college education was for the smart kids and occupational training for the rest. Colleges...

24.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Colleges and Universities Adrift in Administrative Bloat

Not so very long ago — say, the 1960s — colleges and universities ran pretty lean operations. Professors devoted most of their time to teaching,...

23.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

The Academic World Is Like Medieval Feudalism

Many progressive academics are forever griping about unjust privileges and hierarchies in society — bad stuff that they’re out to change! Ah, but...

22.07.2026 9

National Review

George Leef

Will Restrictions on ‘Divisive Speech’ Help?

So many academic fields have become saturated with leftist indoctrination, with professors presenting questionable if not downright ridiculous notions...

20.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Will Anyone Miss Sociology?

The left’s “long march” through our institutions has had dramatic effects in higher education, with many once serious fields of study reduced to...

17.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Too Often Ignored: The Right of Students to Associate

American college students have the right to speak. Sometimes that right comes under attack, as with the infamous speech codes, but those codes have...

16.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Will the Trump Administration’s Accreditation Changes Matter?

Accreditation supposedly ensures that colleges and universities are delivering a sound education to their students. It actually hasn’t done that for...

15.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Harvard Medical Talks about its DEI Problem

Some of America’s most prestigious colleges and universities seem to be waking up to the fact that they have drifted far away from their educational...

10.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

The Intifada’s Nasty Tactics Against Our Colleges and Universities

The leaders of many American colleges and universities have long shown that they have no backbone when it comes to opposing radical elements who want...

08.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Why Public Policy Schools Aren’t Working

The country has a number of schools of public policy, which supposedly graduate savvy young men and women who will bring expertise to government...

03.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Two Reports Honestly Address Higher Ed’s Problems

For decades, our higher education leaders have generally ignored the criticisms coming from the right. They were certain that our colleges and...

02.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Colleges Should Stop Choosing Lousy and Expensive Graduation Speakers

Amid the pomp and circumstance of college graduation ceremonies, students have to sit through a speech. These days, the person giving that speech is...

01.07.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Let Students Benefit from the Study of Literature

English departments across the land have fallen into a swamp of ideological conformity. Moreover, lots of professors have decided to stop teaching...

26.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Is It Possible to Defeat AI Cheating by Students?

Artificial intelligence has many beneficial uses, but at least one terrible downside is that it makes cheating easier for students who merely want a...

25.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

The Left’s Specialty: Argument by Smear

These days, numerous leftist intellectuals ply their trade in the following manner: They hunt for anything that might be construed to show that their...

24.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

A ‘Spartan’ Strategy for Defending Higher Education

What does an army do when it’s badly outnumbered? Answer: Choose the battlefield carefully to offset the enemy’s strength. In today’s Martin...

24.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Have We Learned Anything from the Tuskegee Experiment?

In his latest Bastiat’s Window post, Bob Graboyes looks at the infamous Tuskegee Experiment, where government officials treated individuals as...

20.06.2026 30

National Review

George Leef

The American Bar Association Drops Its Diversity Decree

Among the many institutions that have been captured during the left’s “long march” is the American Bar Association (ABA), which now is more...

19.06.2026 30

National Review

George Leef

How Bad Is American Higher Education?

As the Martin Center has been arguing for its entire existence, American higher ed costs far too much and delivers far too little benefit — thanks...

17.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Academia’s Power Problem

F. A. Hayek famously argued that among the defects of totalitarian government is that the worst people tend to seek and get the reins of power. In...

12.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

For Many, College Is Just a Credential

College professors often lament that many of their students have little interest in learning, but are in college just because they need a credential...

11.06.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Why Are So Many Law Students ‘Disabled’?

One of the current scams in higher education is claiming accommodation for your “disability.” Students who get this are given additional time on...

10.06.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Higher Education Should Become More Family-Friendly

The days of worrying about the population explosion seem to be over; now, we’re facing the unpleasant prospect of a shrinking population as more and...

05.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Colleges Need to Crack Down on AI Abuse

By now, almost everyone understands that college students are turning to Artificial Intelligence to do their written work. That’s a serious problem....

04.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

Federal Student Aid Needs Major Changes

As I have long argued, it was a huge mistake for the federal government ever to begin financing higher education.  The results have been terrible —...

03.06.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

For Many Students, Education is an Afterthought

For many young Americans, schooling and credentials matter, but actual education is an afterthought. They have many other things they’d rather do...

29.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Why Have Young Americans Cooled on College Degrees?

It wasn’t long ago that most young Americans automatically went to college. Not going to college was regarded as a stigma and a guarantee of...

28.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Armageddon Approaches for Many Colleges

It wasn't so many years ago that higher education was a growth industry. Going to college was an expectation among most American students, and...

27.05.2026 30

National Review

George Leef

Students Who Protest Before They’ve Heard the Speaker

Many of our college students these days are so certain of their moral rectitude that they protest campus speakers before having heard what the...

26.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Three Year College Degrees — Pro and Con

For more than a century, American students interested in post-secondary education had a choice between the good old bachelor’s degree, which took...

25.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Campus Intellectuals Prefer the Iranian Mullahs to America

Azar Nafisi, an expatriate Iranian author, dared to have a mind of her own in a country where the law demanded that she conform to official...

22.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

How Do You Teach Students Who Can’t Concentrate?

Our education system has been undermined in numerous ways and among them is that many students have very poor attention spans. They can’t read books...

22.05.2026 30

National Review

George Leef

When Education Stops Being About Truth

It used to be the case that our educational institutions focused on teaching students truth and how to find it. But over the last 50 years or so, many...

20.05.2026 10

National Review

George Leef

A Professor Extols Diversity — but Not the Engineered Kind

For decades, many American academics have been obsessed with diversity — meaning “diversity” with regard to race, to be accomplished through...

15.05.2026 30

National Review

George Leef

Why Do Big Universities Spend So Much?

College leaders love spending money. Since they run nonprofit institutions, they don’t worry about “bottom line” efficiency, but instead about...

13.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

College Officials Shrug Off Incendiary Speech

For decades, vitriolic speech from leftists has been tolerated — just one of those things. Calling those who disagree with them Nazis, racists, etc....

12.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Federal Student Loans Can Cause Pain for Generations

One of the worst blunders in American history was the decision to let the federal government get into the business of financing higher education. The...

11.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Will Harvard Reverse Grade Inflation?

Harvard has become known as the poster child for grade inflation. An A is by far the most common grade, while anything below a B is very rare. The...

08.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

When States Meddle in College Sports Markets, Taxpayers Lose

The old regime in college sports — where players were supposed to be pure amateurs and dirty old money was kept — was nonsensical. The Supreme...

07.05.2026 30

National Review

George Leef

Studying Harvard’s Mistakes

Harvard University was once a highly respected academic institution where, it was assumed, students could receive a superior education. But it has...

06.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef

Syllabus Transparency Is Important — Which States Require It?

Among the serious problems with American higher education is that faculty members often hide the true nature of their courses. They’re eager to...

05.05.2026 20

National Review

George Leef