We at the National Association of Scholars are grateful for what 2016 held for us. Our membership grew, we were at the forefront of new debates in higher education, and our members spoke out on behalf of intellectual freedom and Western civilization on their campuses. Join us as we review the year by recognizing what you read most. Here are the top ten articles on NAS.org in 2016:
In May, the National Association of Scholars came to the defense of Professor Dennis Gouws. His course, “Men in Literature,” was canceled after he suddenly ran afoul of Springfield College’s administration. NAS here presents the case of bias against Professor Gouws.
President Adam Falk of Williams College sent an email in February detailing his “extraordinary step” in “canceling a speech by John Derbyshire.” He wrote that Derbyshire crossed “a line.” NAS president Peter Wood’s wrote to ask President Falk what exactly that line was, and this article presents, with President Falk’s permission, their correspondence.
This article was one of our most popular articles from January. It is part of a series called “Dear Future Professor.” In this article, Professor Walter Williams of George Mason University tells new and young faculty members how they can become good teachers.
In May, Virginia Tech’s Dean disinvited Jason Riley from speaking at the university. NAS president Peter Wood and Rachelle Peterson wrote an op-ed for National Review Online defending Mr. Riley’s right to speak. This article is a copy of the open letter sent from Dr. Wood to Dean Sumichrast. In a victory for intellectual freedom, Virginia Tech extended the original invitation and allowed Jason Riley to speak.
Rachelle Peterson writes on what she learned in a crash-course on Black Lives Matter hosted by The New School.
This article, a version of a talk given by Peter Wood at the Claremont Institute, discusses how free speech has been stifled by students themselves. He makes a case for intellectual freedom as the best hope for universities living up to their mission of pursuing the truth and preparing students for life as citizens of a free and self-governing republic.
This article is part of a larger series we published this year called “Books with Spines.” We came up with the topic, and our readers sent us their favorite books under that rubric. In the first week, we asked for books about bad teachers.
Jeremy Tate makes the argument for the Classic Learning Test. This alternative to the SAT is intended to test not only aptitude but also a student’s understanding of rhetoric, logic, ethics, and philosophy.
In this popular article, NAS president Peter Wood offers personal reflections on life’s laments and satisfactions.
On the eve of the election, NAS staff members shared our thoughts on citizenship in America. After the election of Donald Trump, Peter Wood submitted his counsel on American higher education to the future President.
In addition to these articles, our reports also gained some notoriety on our website. The most viewed page on our website was our selection of 80 recommended books which accompanies Beach Books, our study of freshman summer reading. The Architecture of Intellectual Freedom gained a wide audience after NAS published in January and sent it to college presidents around the country. So did The Disappearing Continent, a bold and important critique of the College Board’s new Advanced Placement European history standards.
Thank you for standing with us this year! We look forward to continuing to serve our readers in 2017.
