Episode #33: A Once Great University with Martin Burke

Peter Wood

The City University of New York (CUNY) once had a reputation for providing high-quality education to the poor, working class, and immigrants of New York City. City College, in particular, has long been known as “the poor man’s Harvard.” But CUNY has fallen prey to political correctness, and its zeal to be accessible and affordable has led to a steep drop in academic standards.

This week I’m joined by Martin Burke, an associate professor of history at the CUNY Graduate Center and at Lehman College, chair of the University Faculty Senate, and ex-officio member of the CUNY Board of Trustees. Marty is an active member of NAS and its local chapters, the New York Association of Scholars and the CUNY Association of Scholars.

In this episode, we talk about CUNY’s history, and what it says about higher education at large.

Show Notes

0:00: Peter introduces Marty Burke, and Marty tells a little about his own history.

6:30: CUNY’s standards once matched Harvard’s--but the open admissions policy of the 1960s led to a steep decline.

13:08: CUNY started to institute higher standards in the late 1990s, but it still prides itself on “accessibility.” What does that mean for its academic quality?

19:18: Peter asks Marty about the state of higher education in the United States. Would open admissions be a good policy for the rest of the country?

23:42: Peter questions the value of college today, and Marty shares CUNY’s current perspective on the purpose of education.

28:58: Peter and Marty discuss changing demographics, and what’s in store for universities as the population ages.

31:10: Marty mentions CUNY’s move towards online education, and he and Peter discuss the advantages and disadvantages of education in a virtual classroom.

38:10: CUNY’s Pathways initiative created a new general education program--but it failed to give students common knowledge.

46:25: What is the purpose of general education? Pathways once included 4,200 options for general education courses. Is that really a common core?

56:29: How has CUNY handled Title IX, non-gendered pronouns, academic freedom? Marty shares a few anecdotes, including the story of Josh Blackman, a law professor shouted down.

1:06:03: Marty joined NAS because of its “vigilant commitment to academic freedom and free expression, wherever that leads.” He explains how and why he is involved with NAS, and why you should be too.

Resources

  • Share

Most Commented

October 29, 2024

1.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

November 19, 2024

2.

Lee Zeldin Should Reform EPA Science Policy

NAS welcomes the nomination of Congressmen Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency....

November 20, 2024

3.

NAS Welcomes Administrator McMahon's Nomination to Serve as Education Secretary

With McMahon, the new administration has a chance to drastically slim down and depoliticize the Education Department....

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

May 26, 2010

3.

10 Reasons Not to Go to College

A sampling of arguments for the idea that college may not be for everyone....