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The Academic Observer

Where Scholars Speak Freely and Ideas Clash Boldly

Articles and Opinions

The Brainwashing of Academia: How Ideological Homogenization Undermined Higher Education

By Julian Archer, PhD, Professor of Engineering Sciences

*Foreword:*__ In this essay I explore a deeply concerning transformation within American academia—one that has quietly shifted universities away from their core missions of objective inquiry and truth-seeking. Using the metaphor of academia as society’s intellectual mind, I argue that ideological co...

Student Guest Column: Atrophying Academia: Effects of AI Use in College

By Name Withheld at Author’s Request: a rising sophomore at a public research university.

Identity, institutional affiliation, and conflicts of interest have been verified by the editors....

Academic Freedom in 2025: Navigating Free Speech and Institutional Values

By Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Chair in Politics, Founding Director of the Middle East Study Centre (MESC), University of Hull; and Fellow at The Israel Institute for Advanced Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2024-2025), and President of The Association for Israel Studies

Freedom of expression is a right granted in liberal democracies to every individual. Academic freedom is narrower in scope and application. It is limited to scholars who are engaged in research and teaching in universities and similar institutions of higher education. Academic freedom includes freed...

Opinion: Higher Education Caved to Trump’s Anti-DEI Crusade — It's Time for Academics to Fight Back

By Pete Rottier

In a stunning and cowardly capitulation, many of America’s colleges and universities have erased any mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion from their mission statements, department pages, and even their grant proposals. Once proud institutions — built on the idea that knowledge should serve th...

 

Developing News

Trump Administration Temporarily Blocks, Then Reinstates NIH Grant Awards

WASHINGTON, DC - July 30, 2025 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unexpectedly inserted a footnote into its funding apportionment that effectively **halted the distribution of NIH research grants**—including new awards and possibly some ongoing grants—to universities and medical centers for t...

Northwestern University Announces Elimination of 425 Staff Positions Amid Financial Crisis

EVANSTON, IL - July 29, 2025 Northwestern University revealed it will eliminate **425 staff jobs**, representing about **5% of its staffing budget**, as a critical cost‑saving step following months of mounting financial pressure. The layoffs are part of broader austerity measures aimed at safeguardi...

Education Department Launches Civil Rights Probe into Duke University’s Law Journal Selection Practices

WASHINGTON, DC - July 29, 2025 the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) initiated a federal investigation into **Duke University and its Duke Law Journal**, probing whether race, color, or national origin were improperly used in editor selection - potentially violating Title ...

Education Leaders Brace for Trump Administration Offensive Following Columbia Deal

WASHINGTON, DC - July 28, 2025 Education leaders across the U.S. are anticipating a broader campaign by the Trump administration following Columbia University’s high‑stakes $200 million settlement, which has become the blueprint for federal pressure on higher education institutions. Under the agreem...

The Lighter Side

"Fair and Balanced"

The Battle of Cambridge: Trump vs. Harvard, Now With Extra Popcorn

Congratulations, professor. You’ve made it. You have a PhD, a shared printer that jams on sight, and a title that sounds prestigious until someone asks your salary and you whisper, “...commensurate with despair.”...

The Battle of Cambridge: Trump vs. Harvard, Now With Extra Popcorn

If you thought “Godzilla vs. Kong” was an epic clash, brace yourself: former-and-maybe-future President Donald Trump has picked a fight with Harvard University, the 388-year-old grandparent of American academia. The Yard suddenly feels less like “Dead Poets Society” and more like “Money in the Bank,...

Academic Unplugged: Surviving the Hilarious Chaos of University Life

Welcome to academia - the only place where coffee is a recognized food group, sleep is a myth, and arguing passionately about footnotes is considered socially acceptable. Universities are quirky microcosms brimming with intellectual debates, caffeine overdoses, and unexplainable optimism in the face...