College Matters from The Chronicle

The Chronicle of Higher Education
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Higher education is at the center of the biggest stories in the country today, and College Matters is here to make sense of it all. This podcast is a production of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the nation's leading independent newsroom covering colleges.

  1. 1d ago

    Race-Baiting and Football Collide in Texas

    University of Texas at Austin football fans have good reason to be happy right now. After narrowly defeating the Ohio State University Buckeyes earlier this month, the Longhorns are sitting pretty at No. 1 in the college football rankings. But all is not well in Austin. The morning after the Longhorns’ big win, a Republican political candidate posted an inflammatory message on X, expressing dismay at a photo of students of South Asian descent celebrating in the stands. Bo French, who is running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, has stirred a tempest, suggesting that students of color have overrun the flagship university and “displaced” more deserving “Americans.” The controversy has ratcheted up tensions over immigration, diversity, and admissions in a state where some students from immigrant families say they feel unwelcome. It’s also shed light on the power of football fandom to shape a culture and define a community.  Related Reading Hook ‘Em, But Not All of ‘Em (The Daily Texan)  ‘A Slap in the Face’: How UT-Austin Axed a DEI Division (The Chronicle)  Disappearing White Students (College Matters)  Bo French’s social-media post (X)  Guests Thomas Oates, professor of journalism and American studies at the University of Iowa Pauline Strong, professor of anthropology and past president of the UT-Austin chapter of the American Association of University Professors Isaiah Williams, news editor of The Daily Texan For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    Race-Baiting and Football Collide in Texas

  2. Sep 16

    Jodi Kantor on Harassment, Hope, and Higher Ed

    Jodi Kantor, whose reporting for The New York Times helped expose years of sexual-misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, has been thinking a lot lately about the next generation. What will a fulfilling career look like a decade from now? How worried should college graduates be about AI gobbling up entry-level jobs? And how can employers, including universities, do a better job of stopping workplace harassment, which can derail careers before they even start? Kantor doesn’t have all the answers, of course, but she’s using her platform to start a more focused conversation about the future of work for college-educated people. Related Reading How to Start (Jodi Kantor)  A Year of Reckoning (The New York Times)  The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct (National Bureau of Economic Research)  She Left Harvard. He Got to Stay. (The Chronicle) Guest Jodi Kantor, investigative reporter for The New York Times For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    Jodi Kantor on Harassment, Hope, and Higher Ed

  3. Sep 9

    ‘Grit’ Guru Angela Duckworth Says Willpower is Overrated

    Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, burst onto the scene more than a decade ago with a seemingly simple theory about successful people. They are incredibly determined, Duckworth argued, exhibiting that quintessentially American trait called “grit.” In her new book, Situated, Duckworth says that people have enormous power to change their “situations,” ensuring success by reducing distractions and bolstering connections with mentors. But what about low-income students for whom changing a "situation" is harder than turning off a cell phone? Is Duckworth’s blueprint for success applicable to everyone? Or is it just helpful advice for the already-privileged few? Related Reading Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best (Angela Duckworth)  U. of Michigan's Plan to Pass/Fail Freshmen Draws Ire — and Cheers (The Chronicle)  Has Harvard Gone Soft? (College Matters) Guest ⁠Angela Duckworth⁠, psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    ‘Grit’ Guru Angela Duckworth Says Willpower is Overrated

  4. Trailer

    College Matters Returns

    Is the student reading crisis real? Is AI panic justified? What’s next for the partisan battles over higher education? Each week, The Chronicle of Higher Education’s podcast delves into the thorniest issues facing colleges and universities. Through interviews with newsmakers and conversations with Chronicle staff, College Matters delivers sharp insights and deep analysis of the biggest stories in higher ed. Catch up on previous episodes ⁠Are the Kids Alright? We Asked Ian Bogost ⁠ ⁠Higher Ed Is as American as Apple Pie ⁠ ⁠Dan Ariely Emailed With Epstein for Years. He Has (Mostly) No Regrets.⁠ For more on today’s episode, visit ⁠chronicle.com/collegematters⁠. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    College Matters Returns

  5. Aug 5

    Reading Stoner

    More than 60 years after its publication, John Williams’s novel Stoner remains a revelatory portrait of higher education and the professoriate. Spanning much of the first half of the 20th century, the novel follows William Stoner from his undergraduate days at the University of Missouri through his career as an English professor at the same institution. The common tropes of the academic novel are all on display in Stoner, which features an illicit affair and a nasty interdepartmental feud. But it is Stoner’s intense focus on the purpose of college and the ineffable power of education that make it vital reading for anyone in academe. In the inaugural meeting of the College Matters Book Club, we’re diving into what one reviewer has described as “the perfect novel.” Related Reading:  The Inner Lives of Men - Morris Dickstein’s review of Stoner (The New York Times)  The Greatest American Novel You’ve Never Heard Of (The New Yorker)  Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher Guests: Nell Gluckman, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education  Julie Schumacher, novelist and English professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    Reading Stoner

  6. Jul 22

    The Endlessly Divisive SAT

    The pandemic prompted many universities to drop standardized-testing requirements for applicants, and a lot of institutions remain test-optional today. But some high-profile universities, including all of the members of the Ivy League, have since reinstated their testing requirements. Even the University of California, which has been a leader in the “test free” movement, now plans to revisit its policy. What’s driving the return-to-test trend, and how do skeptics of standardized testing feel about the changing national mood? Related Reading Does the SAT Really Help Colleges Find ‘Diamonds in the Rough’? (The Chronicle)  A Great University Undermines Its Mission (The New York Times)  Report of the Academic Council’s Standardized Testing Task Force (U. of California)   Why the UC Taskforce’s Findings are Spurious (Saul Geiser) Guest Jon Boeckenstedt, former vice provost of enrollment management at Oregon State University For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    The Endlessly Divisive SAT

  7. Jul 8

    Higher Ed and America

    As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, the nation’s colleges and universities are experiencing some growing pains. Older than the country itself, American higher education is a big, bold, polarizing enterprise that people don’t trust as much as they once did — but still can’t imagine living without. Sound like America? It is. Related Reading ‘Animal House’ at 30: O Bluto, Where Art Thou? (The Chronicle)  Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges (Opportunity Insights)  A Faster Degree — Or an Inferior One? (The Chronicle)  Tenure’s Endless Numbered Days (College Matters)  Guest Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    Higher Ed and America

  8. Jun 24

    Another U. of Florida Search Goes Sideways

    The leadership carousel at the University of Florida has turned swiftly of late. Now on its second interim president in as many years, and fresh off of a failed presidential search last summer, the state’s flagship is desperate to install a permanent leader. This month, the university's Board of Trustees voted to give the job to Stuart Bell, defying critics who have assailed the former University of Alabama leader over his past support for diversity initiatives. All of this has made for a rocky process, casting doubt on Bell’s prospects for confirmation from a state-level governing board. But the battle over Bell’s appointment may say more about a political fight to control higher education than it does about diversity or even Bell himself. Related Reading U. of Florida Plays Punching Bag — Again (The Chronicle)  The U. of Florida Rejected a Former DEI Champion. Will Stuart Bell Face the Same Fate? (The Chronicle)  Santa Ono Wanted a Presidency. He Became a Pariah. (The Chronicle) Guest Jasper Smith, staff reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

    Another U. of Florida Search Goes Sideways
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Higher education is at the center of the biggest stories in the country today, and College Matters is here to make sense of it all. This podcast is a production of The Chronicle of Higher Education, the nation's leading independent newsroom covering colleges.

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  • Creator
    The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    81
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Chronicle of Higher Education
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    College Matters from The Chronicle