Interview with Steve McGuire of ACTA
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) was founded in 1995 to promote academic excellence, defend academic freedom, and ensure accountability. The Cornell Review interviewed Dr. Steve McGuire, a former political science and American government professor who serves as the Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom at ACTA. We previously interviewed him in 2023.
Q: ACTA is responding to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a call for greater civics education. How does Cornell fit into your plans?
A: ACTA has just released “A Broadside for the Nation: Preparing College Students for Informed Citizenship.” Reflecting the work of our National Commission on American History and Civic Education, this whitepaper recommends that every university in the country require its undergraduates to take a class on American history and government. ACTA’s What Will They Learn?® initiative already tracks whether institutions require such a course. Cornell does not. We would love to work with Cornell to institute one. A core course in American history and government would not only offer students the opportunity to learn about their nation in community, enriching campus dialogue. It would also offer the university new opportunities for funding from private and government sources. We would also love to advise Cornell on establishing a civics center. Yale has established a Center for Civic Thought, and as the only Ivy League university that has some public colleges, Cornell should take a special interest in graduating informed citizens. The independent institutes of civic education in Florida, Texas, and Chapel Hill have been magnets for distinguished faculty and state and private funding.
Q: In recent years, ACTA conducted a campaign at Cornell as a part of its Campus Freedom Initiative. Steve McGuire followed up by giving a talk at Cornell. Do you feel that progress has been made at Cornell regarding overall campus climate?
A: Cornell has made significant progress under President Kotlikoff’s leadership. Especially notable is the decision to adopt a policy of institutional neutrality, a decision which ACTA supported. Cornell has also taken seriously the problem of disruptions on campus. It is critical to allow for free expression while also ensuring the rights of others to go about their business on campus without harassment or obstruction. Disrupting libraries or career fairs is an outrage against academic ethics, and the Cornell administration has done well to try to curb these behaviors. Finally, we were delighted to see the creation of the Committee on the Future of the American University, another sign that the university is taking seriously public discontent with higher education. We are currently in the process of reevaluating Cornell (and many other universities) using our ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression, and we look forward to reporting the results in the near future.
Q: How do you feel Cornell’s situation differs from the other Ivy League universities?
A: Amidst declining public trust in higher education, there is increasing talk about the need for a renewed social contract between America and its universities. As a land-grant university with public colleges, Cornell has a unique opportunity to show leadership through reprioritizing how it serves the American people and the public good. We are hopeful that the Committee on the Future of the American University will produce an even stronger series of recommendations than those made in the laudable report recently released by Yale’s Committee on Trust in Higher Education. Improvements focused on educational quality (including liberal and civic education) and free expression and intellectual diversity would all be welcome and help to repair the relationship between higher education and the American people.
Q: ACTA has previously identified the Arts and Sciences Program in Freedom and Free Societies as an Oasis of Excellence. Do you still value this program, and what other Cornell Programs does ACTA wish to place into the spotlight?
A: ACTA continues to praise the Program in Freedom and Free Societies as an Oasis of Excellence for its insistence on understanding “constitutional democracy, limited government, and a strong sense of citizenship.” These have never been more important than today. ACTA also has identified Cornell’s Chesterton House as an Oasis of Excellence because it offers a fulfilling residential community studying foundational religious texts. ACTA’s Oases of Excellence and Hidden Gems initiatives are always open to other programs that offer a structured liberal arts education, particularly in civics, and even better if they cultivate a sense of community. And in terms of general education, Cornell must be commended for insisting on strong first-year writing and intermediate-or-above language instruction, without placement or AP exemptions.
Q: In your opinion, how much progress has Cornell made in adopting ACTA’s Gold Standards? In particular, would adopting the Kalven Report have assisted Cornell in navigating the Hamas – Gaza controversy?
A: As we said above, we are currently in the process of reevaluating Cornell based on our Gold Standard criteria. We expect to see that the university has made some progress since our last evaluation, and we commend President Kotlikoff for taking these free expression concerns seriously. We are hopeful that Cornell will continue to make progress toward meeting all 20 of our standards.
Our position is that universities should adopt institutional neutrality and consistently apply the policy over time. Many universities ran into trouble after Hamas’s October 7th terrorist attack on Israel because they had a history of making statements but declined to make one or made poor ones in the wake of that horrific event. Cornell was no different, as then-President Martha Pollack had to release more than one statement because her first was inadequate. So, yes, Cornell would have benefitted from having a policy of institutional neutrality in place at the time. It would have also helped to navigate later issues involving free expression on campus and demands for divestment (which is inconsistent with institutional neutrality). What will really help Cornell in these fraught times is to ensure institutional neutrality penetrates down to the school and department levels. They need to focus on academic quality, not political preferences.
Q: Is there anything else you wish to share?
A: We first launched our Campus Freedom Initiative at Cornell after Ann Coulter was shouted down by students claiming her “words are violence.” We then saw many instances of intolerance and disruption on campus after Hamas’s attack on Israel, and there continue to be these kinds of issues on campus. And, in response, Cornell continues to receive scrutiny from the federal government, with which it entered into an agreement last year. This has been a difficult period in Cornell’s history. While there remains room for improvement, we applaud Cornell’s leadership for taking the initiative to address many of the concerns about its policies and campus climate. We are hopeful that they will continue down this path of reform and make Cornell a model for universities around the country.
