After reading her insightful piece in The Atlantic about a potential way forward, I talked to Danielle Allen, a professor at Harvard University who studies political science, democracy, and philosophy. She argues for a new social contract between higher education and the federal government that simultaneously calls for a firm commitment to academic freedom and what she calls a “horizontal” relationship between universities and the American people—one that is based on mutual respect and reciprocity.

I’ve seen Dr. Allen (Harvard bio; Wikipedia page) mentioned a couple times over the last couple weeks, in different contexts (first in a New Yorker article on how universities are pivoting toward pluralism and away from DEI), and now in this Science editorial about how the social contract between universities and the federal government. I don’t know much about her work or positions, but I’m going to learn more about both as she seems to be leading new thought on the future of universities.

tags: education academia

posted by matt in Thursday, May 8, 2025

Adults of America, you need to wake up. Allowing your political biases to create a future where children are treated with hostility while pursuing higher education is dangerous, no matter what political party you belong to. This is not just about Harvard. Or about me. It’s about the country we are building — one where young people are punished for thinking, dreaming and believing differently than the generation before them.

We are not your culture war – we are your kids. We are the future.

I really feel the emotion of this article, to an extent. My son is a Harvard alum, and his grandparents, on both sides, are Trump Republicans. My wife and our two sons are definitely the liberal wing of the family. So, we understand the feeling that arises when Republican family members ask about Harvard, although we’ve never been asked something as direct as “Harvard? Isn’t that a liberal school?”.

I’m proud of my family, though, because, unlike the author’s family, they have never abandoned what they understand about Harvard – it’s reputation for academic excellence. Every member of our family, including the Trumpers, has been outwardly proud of my son for his Harvard education. Many of them even travelled to Cambridge to attend his graduation last year (battling a torrential downpour in the process!).

I hope that pride continues to hold as the university battles Trump’s attacks on higher education. My dream is that their pride in my son actually grows into an understanding of academia and the importance of its continued independence. He’s in graduate school at M.I.T. now and has committed to a career in academia, so it doesn’t seem like an unreasonable ask. We’ll see.

tags: academia harvard politics

posted by matt in Monday, April 28, 2025

No one expects further progress to come easily; but that has never deterred Milman and Neeman. “From my experience,” Milman said, “all of the major things that I was fortunate enough to be able to do required just not giving up.”

The problem here is fascinating, and I can grasp that. I can't grasp the math of the solution, but I know somebody who can and I look forward to talking to him about it.

I love the closing paragraph quoted above. True in math, true in everything. Don't give up. Ever.

tags: academia math

posted by matt in Sunday, May 7, 2023