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Make your gift countAugust 24, 2026
On this episode of Higher Ed Now Civics Edition, ACTA President Michael Poliakoff moderates a bracing and illuminating conversation with Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and former U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Executive-in-Residence in Duke’s University’s Political Science Department and Distinguished Lecturing Fellow at the university’s Center for Politics John Hillen on what makes America exceptional in history and among all nations even today and how exposure to all its intricacies will help create the next generation of informed patriots. Both are members of ACTA’s National Commission on American History and Civic Education and contributors to an upcoming volume of essays on what every college student should know about American history.
August 31, 2026
ACTA President Michael Poliakoff welcomes Dr. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president emeritus of George Washington University and member of ACTA’s National Commission on American History and Civic Education. A distinguished university leader, Dr. Trachtenberg examines the systemic breakdown of American history education in America. He and Dr. Poliakoff explore the potential for reform, highlighting how university leaders, law associations, and governing boards can reinstate essential history requirements while avoiding the pitfalls of heavy-handed legislative control.
Stephen Trachtenberg: A University President’s Guide to Rebuilding the American StoryAugust 26, 2026 by Monica Boryczewski
Education is taken for granted in the United States. It is readily available, yet many students pursue their studies…
August 24, 2026
On this episode of Higher Ed Now Civics Edition, ACTA President Michael Poliakoff moderates a bracing and illuminating conversation…
ACTA’s A Broadside for the Nation: Preparing College Students for Informed Citizenship convenes 24 historians and education leaders who argue that America’s 250th anniversary demands a renewal of civic education. The report urges colleges to require every student to complete a semester-long course on the American story.
Download PDFSeptember 3, 2026
Was Jason Arday an academic superstar or a plagiarizing fraud? Do Nathan Cofnas’s research interests invalidate his critique of Arday’s work? Why are so few talking about the University of Cambridge’s role in this story? In this episode of Radio Free Campus, co-hosts Steve McGuire and Justin Garrison discuss the case of Jason Arday, a former Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism and found dead shortly after a scandal about his research broke in July 2026. The hosts discuss the accusations against Arday, how he and Cambridge responded to questions about Arday’s academic qualifications and integrity, and what has happened…
Jason Arday, Nathan Cofnas, and Plagiarism Accusations at CambridgeSeptember 1, 2026
ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) has evaluated universities in several states against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™,…
September 1, 2026
ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) has evaluated universities in several states against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™,…
ACTA now provides a blueprint to help higher education regain and live by this core principle. The ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™ provides clear guidance for institutions to create a culture of free thought on their campuses.
Download PDFAugust 21, 2026 by Kyle Beltramini
This week the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published its proposed revisions to higher education’s system of quality assurance. Building on the consensus reached by the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Committee in May, Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent declared that this reform would result in a “transformation of our higher education system” aimed at […]
Department of Education Releases New Accreditation RegulationsAugust 19, 2026 by Armand B. Alacbay
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s “National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards” reflects the reality that…
August 5, 2026
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni sent a letter to the Bard College Board of Trustees demanding increased…
Governance for a New Era is a blueprint for higher education governance. Signatories to the statement, a diverse group of 22 distinguished national leaders dedicated to ensuring America’s colleges and universities shed 20th century thinking and successfully meet 21st century challenges.
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Guarding Our Heritage of Religious Freedom
Join UsACTA in the NewsCore Curriculum
The EDU Ledger | August 24, 2026 by Jatika Hudson
Reports from Notre Dame, Pepperdine, Columbia University, and the University of Virginia have shown that Gen Z students are walking evidence of the failure in the education system that leaves them struggling to read and ill prepared to succeed on the college level. In 2024, Aleysha Ortiz, a top-r…
ACTA in the NewsCore Curriculum
USA Today | August 9, 2026 by Daniel de Vise
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect school on the list of LinkedIn’s top 10 colleges. The correct school is the University of Notre Dame. Lehigh University is a selective Pennsylvania institution with a national reputation and a $2 bi…
ACTA in the NewsCivic Education
Washington Examiner | August 8, 2026 by Samuel J. Abrams
The Cato Institute recently asked Americans seven basic civics questions as the country turned 250. A majority of Gen Z answered only one of them correctly. In fact, 61% of adults under 30 could not say what the anniversary marks, and 30% volunteered that they had no idea what America’s 250th is …
ACTA in the NewsCivic Education
Philanthropy Roundtable | August 4, 2026 by Joanne Florino
In early 2022 Philanthropy Roundtable published “What Ever Happened to U.S. History 101?,” a discussion of the abysmal failure of U.S. colleges and universities to ensure students’ course schedules include at least a basic survey course on our nation’s history or government. …
institutions have been counseled by ACTA on matters of cost effectiveness, financial governance, and institutional spending. See ACTA’s one-of-a-kind higher education financial analysis tool: HowCollegesSpendMoney.com.
institutions and systems representing nearly four million students, encouraged by ACTA, reaffirmed their commitment to free speech on campus by adopting the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a policy of institutional neutrality.
institutions have improved their core curriculum requirements based on ACTA’s annual What Will They Learn?® initiative. Visit WhatWillTheyLearn.com
students from 140 institutions have engaged in 660 civil discourse debates, dialogues, and workshops through ACTA’s College Debates & Discourse Alliance.
news outlets in 2025 covered ACTA’s nationwide impact on academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability in higher education.
million dollars in gifts to higher education have been guided through ACTA’s Fund for Academic Renewal. Visit AcademicRenewal.org.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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