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Press ReleasesGeneral Education
Three Programs Join ACTA’s Oases of Excellence Network
March 12, 2025
ACTA is proud to recognize these programs and the faculty who lead them. Their work is restoring the legacy…
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Latest
StatementFreedom of Expression
ACTA President Michael Poliakoff’s Statement on Columbia University’s Settlement with the Trump Administration
March 24, 2025 by Michael B. Poliakoff
Columbia has said it will undertake a major, overdue cultural change. Implementation will not […]
PROMOTING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Where the Humanities’ Death Knell Doesn’t Ring True
March 13, 2025 by Gabriella Hsu
According to countless recent headlines, American college students are struggling. Our “best and brightest” are no longer being asked to read or are incapable of doing so, and more and more students rely on AI to complete their assignments. Despairing reports of the “death of the humanities,” it seems, have not been greatly exaggerated.
Where the Humanities’ Death Knell Doesn’t Ring True
No U.S. History?
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 PDFDEFENDING ACADEMIC FREEDOm
A More Perfect Union: A Colloquy on Free Speech
April 1, 2025 by Michael B. Poliakoff and Nadine Strossen
In lieu of a traditional acceptance speech, Philip Merrill Award winner Professor Nadine Strossen engaged in a colloquy with ACTA President Michael Poliakoff. In their compelling discussion, Professor Strosseneloquently illustrates the principles of free speech and open dialogue and why they are so essential for both liberal education and our democratic republic. Read the full […]
A More Perfect Union: A Colloquy on Free SpeechPress ReleasesInstitutional Neutrality
ACTA Praises Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for Signing Senate Bill 1, the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act
March 31, 2025
Senate Bill 1 requires that all Ohio institutions of higher education adopt a policy of institutional neutrality and that…
Freedom of Expression
Model University Anti-Masking Policy
March 24, 2025
While free expression is of paramount value at any college or university, the intentional concealing of one’s identity of…
ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression
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 PDFENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY
ACTA Applauds University of Michigan Board of Regents and Leadership for Shuttering DEI Bureaucracy
March 28, 2025
March 28, 2025—The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) applauds the University of Michigan, which yesterday joined a growing number of higher education institutions in announcing the elimination of many of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In a university-wide email signed by multiple University of Michigan officials, including the president, Santa Ono, […]
ACTA Applauds University of Michigan Board of Regents and Leadership for Shuttering DEI BureaucracyFreedom of Expression
Model University Anti-Masking Policy
March 24, 2025
While free expression is of paramount value at any college or university, the intentional concealing of one’s identity of…
StatementFreedom of Expression
ACTA President Michael Poliakoff’s Statement on Columbia University’s Settlement with the Trump Administration
March 24, 2025 by Michael B. Poliakoff
Columbia has said it will undertake a major, overdue cultural change. Implementation will not be easy: There are few institutions…
Governance for a New Era
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.
Download PDFIN THE
NEWS
Press ReleasesInstitutional Neutrality
ACTA Praises Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for Signing Senate Bill 1, the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act
March 31, 2025
Senate Bill 1 requires that all Ohio institutions of higher education adopt a policy of institutional neutrality and that presidents and boards of trustees at all of Ohio’s public institutions issue strong public statements committing their universities to the principles of free and open inquiry,…
Press ReleasesGeneral Education
Three Programs Join ACTA’s Oases of Excellence Network
March 12, 2025
ACTA is proud to recognize these programs and the faculty who lead them. Their work is restoring the legacy of higher education, one student at a time.
ACTA in the NewsHistorical Literacy
What We Can Learn from George Washington Today
RealClear Public Affairs | March 3, 2025 by Bradley Jackson
February 22nd marked the 293rd anniversary of George Washington’s birth. It seems that few Americans, however, really know the man or understand what makes him important.
ACTA in the News
Latest Trump guidance on race has schools scrambling amid ‘intense fear’
Washington Post | February 22, 2025 by Laura Meckler and Susan Svrluga
The letter from the Education Department was published on a Friday night, at the start of a three-day weekend, but it quickly flew through the inboxes of school officials across the country. The Trump administration was threatening to pull federal funding from any school district or college that …
HOW ACTA IS SUCCEEDING
370
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.
146
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.
256
institutions have improved their core curriculum requirements based on ACTA’s annual What Will They Learn?® initiative. Visit WhatWillTheyLearn.com
16,000+
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.
1,452
news outlets in 2024 covered ACTA’s nationwide impact on academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability in higher education.
275
million dollars in gifts to higher education have been guided through ACTA’s Fund for Academic Renewal. Visit AcademicRenewal.org.
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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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