The Pioneering Cornell Anatomist Who Sought to Bring ‘Honor’ and ‘Duty’ to College Life

At the Turn of the 20th Century, Burton Green Wilder Railed Against Frivolous Activities and Thought Privileged Students Should Hold Each Other to Higher Standards

In 1901, Cornell University students created a new holiday on campus, called “Spring Day.”

Many faculty members objected to the holiday, but few were as visible and vocal as professor Burt Green Wilder, who would go on to become a defining, if little-known, figure in American higher education.

Spring Day built upon a relatively new tradition: During the 1890s students began holding a dance and fundraiser, the Navy Ball, prior to major fall regattas. Not surprisingly, on the day of the regatta, class attendance was low. But attendance became even more abysmal …

Why College Rankings Are Anti-Diversity

To Boost Prestige, Magazines Pressure Universities to Leave Poor Students Behind

In the next several weeks, millions of high school seniors will apply to colleges and universities across the nation. If you are one of them—and if you come from a …

California’s New Education Architecture Is Already Failing

The New System Is So Incoherent That We May Not Know If It's Helping Poor Students

Is California abandoning its poorest students?

That question would be dismissed as absurd by our state’s education leaders, especially Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Board of Education. For years, they …

Are Universities Cheating Millennials?

Colleges Are Churning Out Box-Checkers in an Economy that Rewards Risk-Takers

It’s official: Millennials—those between 18 and 34 years old—are the largest generation in the U.S., surpassing in numbers the formerly dominant baby boomers (51 to 69 years old). Boomers’ college …

How the Knowledge Economy Delays Adulthood

There Is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow

In the wake of the Great Recession, story after story appeared about how members of the millennial generation had stalled after college graduation, and were desperately searching for the jobs …