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Make your gift countSeptember 23, 2025
Virginia’s public universities should be leaders in promoting free expression and diversity of thought, but new research from ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) shows the state’s most important public universities have serious work to do to make their campuses welcoming to new ideas and different points of view. We surveyed over 2,300 students and recent alumni from George Mason University (GMU), James Madison University (JMU), the University of Virginia (UVA), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Virginia Tech (VT), and William & Mary (W&M). Our survey found high levels of self-censorship and intellectual intolerance on each campus.
For too long, colleges and universities have neglected teaching the American story to undergraduates, with fewer than one in five institutions requiring a course in U.S. government or history for graduation. Most students are leaving college without a grasp of their own system of government, a situation that is particularly alarming in an age of rising polarization. ACTA has taken a significant step to address this crisis by convening the National Commission on American History and Civic Education, comprised of esteemed historians, political scientists, and education leaders.
September 17, 2025
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is pleased to announce that Lawrence H. Summers, the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and president emeritus at Harvard University, is the winner of the 2025 Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education.
Harvard President Emeritus Lawrence H. Summers Named ACTA’s 2025 Philip Merrill Award WinnerSeptember 11, 2025
ACTA president Michael Poliakoff speaks with Lee Strang, the inaugural director of the new Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and…
The Hill | September 8, 2025 by John Kenneth White
New York Times columnist Thomas Byrne Edsall recently described President Trump’s “mind-boggling intrusiveness ” Unlike any other 21st century…
ACTA’s report, “No U.S. History? How College History Departments Leave the United States out of the Major,” found that 18 of the top 25 public universities did not have a wide-ranging American history requirement for students seeking a B.A. in history in the major or core curriculum.
Download PDFRichmond Times-Dispatch | October 5, 2025 by Michael B. Poliakoff and Justin Garrison
As the University of Virginia (UVa) begins its search for a new president, it is imperative that the university require applicants to demonstrate their commitment to improving freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus. Change in this area is urgently needed. In 2022, Emma Camp, then a senior at UVa, described a campus culture of fear that led her and other students to self-censor — and even lie — to stay on the right side of peers and professors. While our organization, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), has documented policy improvements at UVa in…
Commentary: UVa’s new president must improve campus freedomSeptember 23, 2025
Today, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) released a survey of over 2,300 students at six of…
September 23, 2025
Virginia’s public universities should be leaders in promoting free expression and diversity of thought, but new research from ACTA’s…
ACTA now provides a blueprint to help higher education regain and live by this core principle. The ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™ provides clear guidance for institutions to create a culture of free thought on their campuses.
Download PDFOctober 9, 2025
ACTA’s Nick Down interviews Thad Westbrook, chairman of the University of South Carolina’s (USC) Board of Trustees. Mr. Westbrook earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from USC and his J.D. from the USC School of Law. A member of the USC Board since 2010, he spearheaded the creation of USC’s Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse and has helped lead the movement to break up the higher education accreditation monopoly.
Thad Westbrook: Leading Higher Education Reform at the University of South CarolinaSeptember 23, 2025 by Armand B. Alacbay
ACTA’s Chief of Staff and Senior VP of Strategy, sent a letter to the Commission for Public Higher Education…
September 3, 2025
American society is characterized by its diverse cultures. But diversity alone, especially when narrowly understood as a matter of…
Governance for a New Era is a blueprint for higher education governance. Signatories to the statement, a diverse group of 22 distinguished national leaders dedicated to ensuring America’s colleges and universities shed 20th century thinking and successfully meet 21st century challenges.
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October 8, 2025
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) will honor Pano Kanelos, the founding president of the University of Austin (UATX), as our 2025 Hero of Intellectual Freedom. A passionate advocate for liberal education and intellectual diversity, Dr. Kanelos and his fellow co-founders formed UA…
Richmond Times-Dispatch | October 5, 2025 by Michael B. Poliakoff and Justin Garrison
As the University of Virginia (UVa) begins its search for a new president, it is imperative that the university require applicants to demonstrate their commitment to improving freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus. Change in this area is urgently needed. In 2022, Emma Camp, the…
September 23, 2025
Today, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) released a survey of over 2,300 students at six of Virginia’s 15 public universities, uncovering high rates of self-censorship and viewpoint intolerance. We also released an accompanying report card that assesses the institutions’ policies…
September 17, 2025
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is pleased to announce that Lawrence H. Summers, the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and president emeritus at Harvard University, is the winner of the 2025 Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education.
institutions have been counseled by ACTA on matters of cost effectiveness, financial governance, and institutional spending. See ACTA’s one-of-a-kind higher education financial analysis tool: HowCollegesSpendMoney.com.
institutions and systems representing nearly four million students, encouraged by ACTA, reaffirmed their commitment to free speech on campus by adopting the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a policy of institutional neutrality.
institutions have improved their core curriculum requirements based on ACTA’s annual What Will They Learn?® initiative. Visit WhatWillTheyLearn.com
students from 100+ Institutions have engaged in 400+ civil discourse debates, dialogues, and workshops through ACTA’s college debates program partnership with Braver Angels and Bridge USA.
news outlets in 2024 covered ACTA’s nationwide impact on academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability in higher education.
million dollars in gifts to higher education have been guided through ACTA’s Fund for Academic Renewal. Visit AcademicRenewal.org.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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