College Matters from The Chronicle

More than 60 years after its publication, John Williams’s novel Stoner remains a revelatory portrait of higher education and the professoriate. Spanning much of the first half of the 20th century, the novel follows William Stoner from his undergraduate days at the University of Missouri through his career as an English professor at the same institution. The common tropes of the academic novel are all on display in Stoner, which features an illicit affair and a nasty interdepartmental feud. But it is Stoner’s intense focus on the purpose of college and the ineffable power of education that make it vital reading for anyone in academe. In the inaugural meeting of the College Matters Book Club, we’re diving into what one reviewer has described as “the perfect novel.”

Related Reading:

The Inner Lives of Men - Morris Dickstein’s review of Stoner (The New York Times)

The Greatest American Novel You’ve Never Heard Of (The New Yorker)

Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Guests:

Nell Gluckman, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

Julie Schumacher, novelist and English professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

The pandemic prompted many universities to drop standardized-testing requirements for applicants, and a lot of institutions remain test-optional today. But some high-profile universities, including all of the members of the Ivy League, have since reinstated their testing requirements. Even the University of California, which has been a leader in the “test free” movement, now plans to revisit its policy. What’s driving the return-to-test trend, and how do skeptics of standardized testing feel about the changing national mood?

Related Reading

Does the SAT Really Help Colleges Find ‘Diamonds in the Rough’? (The Chronicle)

A Great University Undermines Its Mission (The New York Times)

Report of the Academic Council’s Standardized Testing Task Force (U. of California)

Why the UC Taskforce’s Findings are Spurious (Saul Geiser)

Guest

Jon Boeckenstedt, former vice provost of enrollment management at Oregon State University

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, the nation’s colleges and universities are experiencing some growing pains. Older than the country itself, American higher education is a big, bold, polarizing enterprise that people don’t trust as much as they once did — but still can’t imagine living without. Sound like America? It is.

Related Reading

‘Animal House’ at 30: O Bluto, Where Art Thou? (The Chronicle)

Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges (Opportunity Insights)

A Faster Degree — Or an Inferior One? (The Chronicle)

Tenure’s Endless Numbered Days (College Matters)

Guest

Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

The leadership carousel at the University of Florida has turned swiftly of late. Now on its second interim president in as many years, and fresh off of a failed presidential search last summer, the state’s flagship is desperate to install a permanent leader. This month, the university's Board of Trustees voted to give the job to Stuart Bell, defying critics who have assailed the former University of Alabama leader over his past support for diversity initiatives. All of this has made for a rocky process, casting doubt on Bell’s prospects for confirmation from a state-level governing board. But the battle over Bell’s appointment may say more about a political fight to control higher education than it does about diversity or even Bell himself.

Related Reading

U. of Florida Plays Punching Bag — Again (The Chronicle)

The U. of Florida Rejected a Former DEI Champion. Will Stuart Bell Face the Same Fate? (The Chronicle)

Santa Ono Wanted a Presidency. He Became a Pariah. (The Chronicle)

Guest

Jasper Smith, staff reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

College Matters listeners, we want to hear from you. Please help us to improve our show by completing a brief audience survey at chronicle.com/podcastsurvey.

Last week, Kevin Guskiewicz took a pay cut to leave Michigan State University’s presidency for the top job at Clemson University. And he lobbed a grenade on the way out by criticizing the institution’s trustees, a group of eight elected officials who in recent years have been accused of dysfunction and backbiting. It’s the latest example of how partisan governing boards, willing to throw their weight around in new ways, are making presidents uncomfortable. Are those boards overstepping their bounds? Rema Vassar, an outspoken Michigan State trustee, argues that leadership tension is “a gift” — and discusses an audio recording in which she told students how they might “crucify” a past president.

Related Reading

He Came From the Frying Pan. Can He Manage the Fire? (The Chronicle)

After an Embarrassing Report, Squabbles on Michigan State’s Board Head Toward a Political Conclusion (The Chronicle)

The New Order (The Chronicle)

Guests

Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education

Rema Vassar, member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.