The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota is one of those low-flying, tub-thumping right-wing think tanks that has heretofore mostly concentrated on disputing what it calls the “junk science” behind climate change. It’s recently joined forces with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), another neo-con group founded by Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
ACTA flys higher, known mostly for the first report after the September 11, 2001 tragedy advocating the neo-con attack on critical thinking, specifically critical thinking about the Middle East. The title of the post-9/11 report: “Defending civilization: how our universities are failing America and what can be done about it.” It’s key finding: Campus criticism of the Bush administration’s wars was proof of failing to defend civilization and that the universities were failing America. The problem, simply put, was that the nation’s universities weren’t properly teaching western culture and American history. This was one of the first—if not the very first—assertions that dissent equates to treason.
Roberto Gonzalez, then an assistant professor at San Jose State University, wrote in the San Jose Mercury News (no link; archive is behind paywall) that ACTA was quickly assembling a blacklist under the guise of protecting academic freedom. “In a chilling use of doublespeak it affirms the right of professors to speak out, yet condemns those who have attempted to give context to Sept. 11, encourage critical thinking, or share knowledge about other cultures. Faculty are accused of being ‘short on patriotism’ for attempting to give students the analytical tools they need to become informed citizens,” Gonzalez wrote in his 31 December 2001 piece.
Just so we know who we’re playing with.
ACTA and the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota have partnered to produce a report on the state of public higher education in Minnesota (.pdf; 1.8MB). An executive summary (.pdf; 537KB) is also available.
If you’re anything but a dissent equals treason neo-con sycophant, you’ll find the right-wing’s take on public higher education in Minnesota laughable. The report claims to take a “close look” at “four key areas of the public’s interest: what students are learning; whether the marketplace of ideas is vibrant; how the universities are governed; and what a college education costs.”
Of course this is a “close look” with an agenda. I’m actually proud that the University of Minnesota failed all but one of the report’s criteria (the University passed “first-year retention rates for first-time, full-time freshmen). Here’s what the University is failing at according to these wingnuts:
- Instructional vs. administrative spending (I actually agree with this finding, strangely enough; there are way too many upper-level administrators at the University)
- Trends in in-state undergraduate tuition and fees
- Annual in-state undergraduate tuition and required fees as a percentage of median household income
- Baccalaureate graduation rates for first-time, full-time freshman
- Ratio of new programs to closed programs
- Performance as a criterion for funding
Everyone’s upset about rising tuition at the University. A surprisingly simple solution would be for the state to recognize the value of the University and fund it accordingly. Currently, roughly 26 percent of the University’s operating budget comes from state funding. That’s just pitiful. Most everyone is in agreement that public higher education must be revisioned. “Reports” like this one aren’t helpful.
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