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Center
for the American University
While universities pledge to respect diversity in its many forms-ethnic,
cultural, religious-they all too often stifle diversity of thought.
On far too many campuses, professors and administrators promote
an ideological orthodoxy that leaves little room for critical inquiry
or for different points of view. Many Americans by now have read
or heard the stories: controversial speakers heckled, silenced,
or disinvited; student newspapers expressing provocative views stolen
or destroyed; professors and administrators who dissent from orthodox
viewpoints harassed or even dismissed; and students pressured into
ideological conformity in the classroom.
The Manhattan Institute's Center for the American University
(CAU) is dedicated to restoring the original conception of the
university. We want to foster a university based on neither conservative
nor liberal doctrines, but rather on the search for knowledge and
truth. Discovering truth, however, is impossible without a commitment
to freedom of inquiry and the broadest possible range of viewpoints-what
we call intellectual pluralism.
Our goal is not to topple what CAU senior fellow and former Olin
Foundation director Jim Piereson has aptly coined the "Left University"
and replace it with a "Right University." Rather, we want to encourage
universities to embrace a broader range of thought on the issues
that are shaping our nation and the world. Many universities are
devout champions of diversity when it comes to the racial and gender
makeup of their student bodies-but without diversity of thought,
such efforts are hollow. Through books, conferences, and panel discussions,
the Center for the American University works to strengthen the role
of the university in a free society.
The CAU provides a forum where scholars, philanthropists, journalists,
and academic and business leaders can meet to exchange views on
the future of the American university. The Center also encourages
research and writing on the contemporary academy, and is forming
partnerships with scholars and writers who have similar concerns.
Minding
the Campus
The CAU has established a web magazine, Minding
the Campus, which includes daily commentaries, original
essays, and a blog. Minding the Campus draws upon the best from
established magazines and publications, as well as from professional
journals, blogs, and student publications. It provides transcripts
and videos of CAU events; podcasts and book reviews; and "must reads"an
archive of key documents, research, books, and articles on campus
issues.
Minding the Campus actively fosters a free exchange of viewsone
of fair and balanced discussions instead of polemical monologues.
The magazine is edited by John Leo, former U.S. News and
World Report columnist and current CAU senior fellow. Leo's
popular column, "On Society," ran in U.S. News & World Report
for 17 years, and was syndicated in 140 newspapers.
Events
CAU events bring together a diverse and influential crowd of business
leaders; top-level TV, print, and radio journalists; philanthropists;
and politicians. We put them in contact with each other and with
the best scholars, writers, and thinkers on a wide range of important
issues. Journalists from Money magazine, the Wall Street
Journal, The New Criterion, and Forbes have attended
CAU events. For more information on past and upcoming CAU events,
please click here.
The VERITAS
Fund for Higher Education Reform at DonorsTrust
In 2007, the Manhattan Institute created the VERITAS Fund for Higher
Education at DonorsTrust.
The current environment on university campuses values Diversitas
over Veritasbut cultural diversity is a poor substitute
for truth, which must be the prevailing aim of the university. And
discovering truth is impossible without a commitment to freedom
of inquiry and the broadest possible range of viewpoints. We call
this intellectual pluralism.
The VERITAS Fund at DonorsTrust is a donor-advised fund that seeks
out professors at top-tier universities who are committed to bringing
intellectual pluralism to their institutions. Working with these
professors, we fund centers of academic excellence within universities
that help introduce a new generation of students to broader perspectives
than are available on most campuses.
Typically, we provide top-notch professors with substantial seed
capital, spread over three years. After these professors have demonstrated
progress with their "centers," we assist them in identifying other
funding sourcesalumni, institutional, or foundationsto
sustain their efforts.
Success Stories
The VERITAS Fund's lodestar is Professor Robert George's James
Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton
University. The Madison program, which is dedicated to studying
American constitutional law and Western political thought, was founded
in 2000 and is a powerful example of how relatively modest funding,
employed tactically, can drive the development of new institutions
on campus.
In its inaugural year, the VERITAS Fund raised and largely committed
$2,500,000 to seeding centers on the campuses of Boston College,
Brown University, the University of Colorado, Cornell University,
Dartmouth College, Emory University, Georgetown University, New
York University, the University of Texas, and the University of
Virginia. Of these programs, five were established programs that
used VERITAS funds to help augment their existing effortsoften
significantly. The remaining five were created from scratch, made
possible only by the promise of three years of VERITAS Fund support.
Click here for more information on
VERITAS-funded programs.
Supporting VERITAS
Many philanthropists wish to support higher education reform on
American campuses, but need assistance in identifying worthy scholars
and programs. VERITAS provides an experienced staff of advisors
who are closely attuned to the academic world and who are expert
in leveraging philanthropic support to sustain efforts for the long
haul. We focus on the most difficult part of a foundation's jobidentifying
and seeding new programs. Unlike the traditional foundation model,
however, our fund is open to outside investors. We expect that a
number of established foundations interested in making higher-education
reform a philanthropic priority will invest in the Fund as well.
The American mind remains open in large measure to a handful of
such foundationsmost notably, the now-dissolved Olin Foundationthat
put their money where their minds were. VERITAS was honored to receive
a $1 million matching gift from Olin before its closing.
Gifts to VERITAS are not donations to the Manhattan Institute.
Ninety-nine cents out of every dollar VERITAS raises goes to supporting
our academic programs, with a penny going to DonorsTrust for administering
the Fund.
To make a financial investment in the VERITAS Fund, please contact
DonorsTrust or follow the contribution instructions below. Charitable
investments of any size are encouraged, and individuals, private
foundations, and corporations are eligible for an immediate charitable
tax deduction.
- Make checks payable to "DonorsTrust." Indicate "FBO VERITAS
Fund" on the memo line.
- Notify DonorsTrust of the name and number of all incoming securities.
Instruct that the shares be directly transferred to the Trust's
account (#86Q-04119) through Merrill Lynch's DTC (#5198).
- Notify DonorsTrust of all incoming wire transfers. Contact DonorsTrust
for additional transfer instructions.
DonorsTrust
109 North Henry Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Voice: 703.535.3563 Fax: 703.535.3564
(DonorsTrust serves as the financial administrator for the VERITAS
Fund and is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides a safe, tax
efficient, and innovative charitable vehicle to any donor who wishes
to fund organizations that undergird America's founding principles.)
If you have any questions regarding the VERITAS Fund at DonorsTrust,
or would like to review our prospectus, please contact Jaclyn Kiely
at jkiely@manhattan-institute.org.
Select
Articles:
- The Bucks Stop, but Will Colleges Notice? Anthony Paletta, Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2009
- A Political Education Anthony Paletta, Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2009
- Bill Ayers And The Educational Research Conference Charlotte Allen, Weekly Standard, May 12, 2009
- The
Politics of Campus Spending Politics Charlotte Allen, Washington Examiner, 04-01-09 (This piece also appeared
on MindingTheCampus.com)
- What's The Real Issue For Black Students?, John McWhorter,
Dallas Morning News, 03-25-09
- Economic illiterates Maurice Black and Erin O'Connor, Newsday,
03-08-09 (This article originally appeared on MindingTheCampus.com,
1-26-09)
- How Harvard Should Handle Its Endowment, Charlotte Allen,
Forbes, February 27
- Universities
in Denial, Charlotte Allen, New Majority, February
19, 2009
- Getting
Lincoln through College, Allen Carl Guelzo, National
Review Online, February 12, 2009 (This article originally
appeared on MindingTheCampus.com)
- The
Left University By James Piereson, Weekly Standard,
10-3-08
- Long
Live the SATs, John McWhorter, The New York Sun,
09-25-08
- The
Hazards of Telling the Truth John Leo, Wall Street
Journal, 04-15-08
- At
Columbia, History is Being Written by the Radicals By John
Leo, New York Daily News, 04-10-08
(This article originally appeared on City
Journal Online and also appears on MindingTheCampus.com)
- Facing
Capitalism's Greatest Crisis By James Piereson, Weekly
Standard, 03-31-08
- Invitation
Shames UND By John Leo, Grand Forks Herald,
03-26-08
- Catholic-Bashing
By John Leo, Huffington Post, 03-22-08
- A
college internship—only the rich need apply? By Anthony
Paletta, Dallas Morning News, 03-09-08
(This article originally appeared in Inside
Higher Ed, 2-19-08)
- Columbia
Caves for Land's Sake New York Post, 11-18-07
- "The
Closing of the American Mind" at 20 By James Piereson,
The New Criterion, November 2007
- Another
view: America's flaw or Bloom's? By Heather Mac Donald,
, 03-08-07
- Who
Will Stand Up For Campus Free Speech? By John Leo,
Townhall.com, 10-23-07
- Orthodox
Campus By John McWhorter, New York Sun, 10-04-07
- Among
Collegiate Educators, a Disturbing Hegemony By John Leo,
Washington Post, 09-12-07
- Indoctrination
101 By John Leo, Townhall.com, 09-12-07
- And
the Award Goes To... By John Leo, New York Sun,
06-25-07
- UCLA's
Segregation Problem By John Leo, Realclearpolitics,
06-14-07
- College
Censorship By John Leo, New York Sun, 05-02-07
- Bringing
Back the Campus By John McWhorter, New York Sun,
03-08-07
- Harvard's
Faustian Bargain By Heather Mac Donald, RealClearPolitics.com,
02-09-07 (Originally
appears in City
Journal)
- Free
Inquiry? Not on Campus By John Leo, RealClearPolitics.com,
02-01-07 (Originally
appears in City
Journal, Winter 2007)
- The
Rise & Fall of the Intellectual By James Piereson,
The New Criterion, September 2006
- When
Activism Masquerades as Education By Sol Stern, New
York Daily News, 7-21-06
- The
Ivy League Without Larry Summers By Regina E. Herzlinger,
The New Republic Online, 7-10-06
- Clinical,
Cynical By Heather Mac Donald, The Wall Street Journal,
1-11-06
- On
Campus, Conservatives Talk Back By Brian Anderson,
City Journal, Winter 2005
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