Mike Gavin

My latest in Change magazine speaks of Charlie Kirk in the context of national memory, authoritarianism and how we can start to move out of defense collectively.

www.linkedin.com/posts/usc-pu...

I am sorry to hear that. We recently started The Alliance for Higher Education, after 3 years of work that is focused on resisting authoritarianism in higher ed and also setting a new future for the democracy. Check us out and keep us in mind for collaboration/coalition.

allianceforhighered.org

My latest in Change delves into Kirk and white nationalism to seek a new way to imagine our way out of authoritarianism.

My latest in Change magazine speaks of Charlie Kirk in the context of national memory, authoritarianism and how we can start to move out of defense collectively.

www.linkedin.com/posts/usc-pu...

Higher Ed's Response to External Forces: Adrianna Kezar on Hope Over Pessimism | USC Pullias Center for Higher Education posted on the topic | LinkedIn How has #highered been responsive been responsive to external forces over the years? In the new issue of Change Higher, Adrianna Kezar breaks it down and posits that campus leaders still must have hop...

My latest in Change magazine speaks of Charlie Kirk in the context of national memory, authoritarianism and how we can start to move out of defense collectively.

www.linkedin.com/posts/usc-pu...

The New White Nationalism in Politics and Higher Education The New White Nationalism in Politics and Higher Education analyzes a new form of white nationalism that seeks to recruit mainstream citizens to achieve its goa…

Let’s be clear. It is a contest for defining who belongs and who does not; who matters and who does not; and where the borders are subsequently drawn. From wars and violence against black/brown/women/LGBTQ people to the curriculum and funding cuts to the same.

www.bloomsbury.com/us/new-white...

Censorship and Governance: The Modern Assault on Higher Education For the nation to thrive and for higher education to continue to serve as a vehicle for democracy, it’s essential colleges and universities have the freedom to foster the exchange of ideas without cen...

In every sector that produces or disseminates knowledge. www.theeduledger.com/opinion/arti...

This, on perpetual repeat

Narrative Continues to win the Day and Harm Higher Education/the Democracy In 2021, Chris Rufo, architect of many of the attacks on recent attacks on higher education wrote:

Narrative Continues to win the Day and Harm Higher Education/the Democracy
open.substack.com/pub/michaelh...

Thank you so much @gusmoyer.bsky.social I am flattered!!!

Most Conservative Students Don’t Feel Persecuted on Campus A new survey of college students contradicts Republican rhetoric that campus culture is hostile to right-wing views.

Report provides helpful data showing what we knew: students do not feel faculty impose their beliefs on them. Cost of college matters. My additional explanation: the wedge driving public perception of college is anti-black/brown/LGBTQ/intellectual discourse.

www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

At the upcoming @alliancehighered.bsky.social meeting for presidents and invited guests, we will discuss concrete ways to intervene on new proposals that are further tying funding to ideological control and self-governance. There are ways to intervene now.
lnkd.in/geqV4-bx

Florida Hands Down Sociology Curriculum to State Colleges The sociology curriculum is likely just the state’s first foray into course development; the Florida Department of Education is already working on a similar framework for American history classes.

For those who in 2023 thought we were in a moment--it was a movement and still is. The playbooks are refined, and the outcomes more draconian.

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Ed Department Weaponizes FERPA to Restrict Voting (opinion) Threats against the use of a national survey on student voting are designed to have a chilling effect without any findings of privacy violations.

Access to knowledge has always been the tension between who has power and who does not. @alliancehighered.bsky.social has resources on how institutions should not succumb to the chilling effect intended with the DCL on voting.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

And now, the final appeal has been dropped. We have more work to do, and what we learned is the game is influencing institutional behavior, not to win in court. Thank you for the shout out, @bakerdphd.bsky.social @alliancehighered.bsky.social

Financial threats being wielded against institutions & organizations charged with producing and disseminating knowledge across sectors. There are creative ways to navigate legal and financial risk--all sectors can learn from each other, and here Colbert shows how to navigate risk and maintain values

Good on the city of Philadelphia & the court: This is a reminder that the lag time between a case being filed and ruled upon can be perilous for democracy. That is when fear gives into authoritarian rule, or funding is used as a weapon for institutions to bend to problematic values. Keep courage.

Thank you, Mia, I really appreciate it! I hope we run into each other soon!!!

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Rebuilding After the Unlawful Dear Colleague Letter. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. On January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education stopped defending guidance it had issued in February 2025 that accused colleges and universities of breaking civil rights laws simply for addressi...

Join us Tuesday, Feb. 17! The @alliancehighered.bsky.social will focus on the DOE’s decision to stop defending its 2025 Dear Colleague Letter, why it matters & how to move forward and rebuild.

Tuesday, February 17. 12-1pm ET
Register for the Zoom webinar here: bit.ly/4cldGRS

Censorship and Governance: The Modern Assault on Higher Education For the nation to thrive and for higher education to continue to serve as a vehicle for democracy, it’s essential colleges and universities have the freedom to foster the exchange of ideas without cen...

Views | A coordinated political campaign has moved from attacking “critical race theory” to reshaping university governance through partisan board control, putting academic freedom, campus climate, and the democratic mission of higher education at risk.

Opinion | Universities are sending Trump a dangerous message Higher education is under attack. Drop the appeasement.

ensuring the country has an educated and capable workforce that uplifts each generation to the next.

Already, decades of damage has been done. The only way to stop authoritarianism is to stand up against it.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Our colleges and universities---from trade schools and community colleges to state flagships and highly selective institutions---are vehicles for democracy, civic thought and discourse, unparalleled innovation, breakthrough discoveries, and for

of the world: self-governance, the free exchange of ideas, and the fair opportunity for students and faculty to thrive and to teach, research, and learn without fear of political retribution. This is why the Alliance for Higher Education exists.

Higher education, as Arne Duncan and David Pressman say, needs a unified response to the foundational attacks on their missions. Censorship via the purse string and board takeovers like we've seen in Florida and Texas are deleterious to the very elements that make American higher education the envy

Surveillance=bad.

@alliancehighered.bsky.social The Alliance for Higher Education was happy to sign on this letter @aaup.org @tamu-aaup.bsky.social

Can’t wait to be at this event!

Sports in the Aftermath of Tragedy In an era characterized by news that caters to extreme ends of the political spectrum, sporting events are one of the last refuges to which people of divergent…

20 years ago I wrote that sports, far away from the tragedies that it was often purporting to 'heal us' from, presented itself as devoid of race, class, gender, these are always present. Looking forward to the Super Bowl half time show.

www.bloomsbury.com/us/sports-in...

If our goals truly are common, there are better ways to remove obstacles than through an overreach in eliminating tenure.

We find it confusing why any leader would want to advance a policy that is simultaneously anti-business, anti-discovery, and that will make their state less competitive. Especially through means in which they have no authority to do so.