StatementFreedom of Expression
ACTA President Michael Poliakoff’s Statement on Columbia University’s Settlement with the Trump Administration
Columbia has said it will undertake a major, overdue cultural change. Implementation will not […]
STAFF
Michael B. Poliakoff
President & Chief Executive Officer
Request an Interview Follow on Twitter/XDr. Poliakoff became part of the ACTA team in March 2010 as the Vice President of Policy, and became ACTA's third president on July 1, 2016. He previously served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and research at the University of Colorado and in senior roles at the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Council on Teacher Quality, the American Academy for Liberal Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
He has taught at Georgetown University, George Washington University, Hillsdale College, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Wellesley College. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University and went on to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. in classical studies. He has been a junior fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies, and his research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung. He is the author of numerous books and journal articles in classical studies and education policy and has received the American Philological Association's Excellence in Teaching Award and the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Distinguished Service to Education Award.
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RECENT WORK
StatementCampus Protests
The Barnard Dilemma
Last week’s storming and takeover of an academic building at Barnard College by 200 anti-Israel protesters—the second such time in a week, shutting down the library, relocating classes, and finally being cleared in response to a bomb threat—again brings into focus the need for colleges and universities to be prepared to enforce their codes of conduct to prevent similar events on their campuses.
StatementDepartment of Education
Statement by ACTA President Michael Poliakoff on Reductions to the Department of Education
We firmly believe that the Department of Education has a bloated bureaucracy and contains many programs that do not represent the interests and needs of the American people. But the speed at which the administration is slashing the department’s programs, contracts, and annual surveys is causing confusion and leaves many with questions about how—or even if— this information will continue to be collected.
ACTA in the NewsFree Speech
Pennsylvania universities pay lip service to campus free speech, yet self-censorship still persists
Like many universities, Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh are struggling to protect free expression, encourage a plurality of views and foster habits of civil discourse on their campuses.
ACTA in the NewsCivic Education
DEI efforts are wrecking America’s military
“There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country. Without such knowledge, he stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither where he has come from nor where he is going.”
ACTA in the NewsCivic Education
Civic Education: The Phoenix Arises
The study of American history and government is undergoing an unprecedented renewal, akin to the phoenix – a mythical bird that is reborn by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. Major universities have recently launched independent institutes, sometimes called “schools of civic thought,” dedicated to the in-depth exploration of an American political tradition that […]
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