About: Jay Schalin

Remember the Blueprint NC controversy, in which the head of a network of liberal organizations sent a memo using violent language and suggesting down-and-dirty tactics against Republicans in the legislature and Governor McCrory? Well, the spirit of Blueprint NC is alive and well among the state’s university faculty. A new organization called Faculty for aContinue Reading

North Carolina’s community colleges used to force 69 percent of all recent high school graduates entering academic programs to take remedial courses. This was very costly to the state, and the failure by remedial students to complete either their remedial classes and or the subsequent entry-level non-remedial math and English classes greatly reduced enrollment inContinue Reading

N.C. State’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs needs two assistant directors, according to the vice provost for Student Diversity. None of these positions are part of State’s Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity. No, that is not satire. However, any bored legislators or university system administrators looking for a couple of empty positions that couldContinue Reading

The most heralded rivalry in college sports is now officially a race to the bottom. After two years of steady revelations of corruption involving athletes at UNC-Chapel Hill, arch-rival Duke has joined the competition. Last week, Rafiello and Co., a jewelry company favored by music stars and professional athletes, filed suit against former Duke (andContinue Reading

Who says college doesn’t prepare you for the real world? Sometimes they do, right down to the final moment when the tassel is turned from right to left. I’m talking about commencement speeches, which prepare students for the many dull speeches pushing shaky political ideas they will be subjected to for the rest of theirContinue Reading

In today’s Clarion Call, Jane Shaw boldly jumps with both feet into the politically incorrect minefield of whether African-American studies are a valid discipline at universities. Her article was sparked by a story in the News & Observer about some jaw-dropping abuses recently uncovered by an investigation of UNC-Chapel Hill’s African and Afro-American Studies department,Continue Reading

This tale makes “A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” look like party-time.  

In January, Jane Shaw and I spoke before UNC’s faculty senate, and said some unpopular things. Jane gave them a list of common-sense suggestions that academia can do to stave off the nightmare should the higher ed bubble burst and to maintain its place of eminence in our society. It probably wasn’t the most conservativeContinue Reading