American U’s new president solutions 5 questions
Jonathan Alger turned American College’s sixteenth president on July 1, following 12 years on the helm of James Madison College in Virginia. A lawyer by coaching, he beforehand served as senior vice chairman and common counsel at Rutgers College and assistant common counsel on the College of Michigan. He has written and spoken extensively on greater schooling coverage and authorized points surrounding range and free speech, amongst different issues.
He stopped by Inside Increased Ed’s D.C. workplace on Wednesday—which he knowledgeable us was World Kindness Day—to introduce himself and reply just a few questions. Then he headed again to the AU campus handy out cookies and reward playing cards.
His responses have been edited for readability and concision.
1. What’s the tenor been like on campus postelection?
I’d say usually what I’m seeing is way more subdued than it was in 2016. I believe folks weren’t caught abruptly in fairly the identical method that they had been eight years in the past. And we’ve to recollect: There are some folks in the neighborhood who’re pleased, some who’re upset; others are simply deeply involved and unsure about what it means. So that you’re coping with that entire mixture of feelings.
One of many ways in which we’ve tried to deal with that’s we’ve began what we name unity dinners—and this was an actual threat. The primary one was on the evening of Oct. 7, once we invited the complete campus—college, employees, college students—however you needed to RSVP in order that we wouldn’t have outdoors teams coming in. The concept was to deliver the neighborhood collectively to not dwell particularly on the world occasions that day a lot as to speak about our frequent humanity. At that first one, we had audio system from the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths all converse.
The second was the day after the election, and my workplace co-sponsored it with the Faculty Republicans and the Faculty Democrats. You possibly can think about, as you’re planning this, considering, “OK, what’s it going to be just like the day after the election?” Nevertheless it really turned out rather well. We had folks sitting at tables with people who they may not know, that they may not agree with politically, however the focus was, we’re nonetheless right here. We’re all on this collectively.
It’s a part of my civic life initiative, which is the signature piece of what I’m doing on campus. The concept is to have a look at the deep polarization, the epidemic of mis- and disinformation in our nation, and say, “How can we not get them to all suppose the identical method, that’s not the purpose—however how can we assist them with the principles of engagement?” And that begins with civil discourse, to develop abilities of management and teamwork, communications, essential considering, moral reasoning, data and information literacy.
There are a variety of parts. We have now already named a gaggle of scholar civic life fellows—34 of them, freshmen all the best way as much as Ph.D. college students. They’re taking a category to arrange them for this position, the place they’re going to assist lead dialogues on campus on tough subjects and produce folks collectively. We’re going to have college fellows. After which within the AU core, which is our common schooling program, there will probably be a course the place college students work on these abilities of dialogue throughout variations. How do you have interaction in debates and dialogue based mostly on info and proof and analysis with out vilifying folks with whom you disagree? That’s what we’re making an attempt to assist our college students do.
2. Your final job was at a public establishment in Virginia, the place Governor Youngkin has appointed members to the Board of Guests and has mentioned public college trustees serve the state fairly than their establishments. Did that play a job in your resolution to take the AU job, and extra broadly, how do you suppose greater ed establishments ought to reply to efforts by state or federal politicians to exert extra management over them?
Definitely, if you’re a public college, you understand that you just’re going to should cope with state authorities, proper? That’s how issues are structured. In Virginia, the complete board is appointed by the governor. I all the time felt it was vital in my position to attempt to get together with folks no matter which governor appointed them. I used to be there for 12 years, and I believe there have been 4 totally different governors, from each events. The perfect conversations I had with board members had been the place you actually couldn’t inform which governor had appointed them.
For me, the chance to come back to AU was, after all, it’s a non-public college, so that you didn’t have these dynamics. However what actually drew me was the mission in addition to the placement. AU is a college I’d all the time type of had my eye on.
On the finish of the day, the tutorial mission is what we’ve to guard. There could be authorities overreach of all types of coming from both facet of the aisle. We have now to talk out when it does occur. Assaults would possibly come from both facet telling how you can educate or what to show. That’s when we’ve to face up and say, “No, these are instructional judgments that must be made by the educators.” That’s what our position needs to be.
3. Below your management, JMU turned a part of Campus Name for Free Expression, a gaggle dedicated to preserving free speech on campus. How do you determine the place to attract the road? Does free expression cowl chants of “From the river to the ocean, Palestine will probably be free”? Encampments? How do you steadiness freedom of expression with the necessity to protect security and safety on campus?
These are very nuanced questions that it’s a must to have a look at on a context-specific foundation. However the steadiness we’re answerable for, as I see it, is, on the one hand, we’ve a authorized obligation to forestall discrimination and harassment on campus, proper? And there are authorized definitions of that. That’s balanced with the rights of free expression, understanding that there’s expression that’s going to be offensive to folks on campus, that they’re going to disagree with. I acknowledge that that’s a tough steadiness, and it’s onerous for lots of people to know.
A few of it’s an academic drawback—serving to folks to know that these are two totally different tasks that we’ve to consider as a college. And whereas they could appear to be they’re in pressure with each other, each contribute to principally what it means to be in a democratic society. That’s form of the place to begin. I don’t make absolute, brilliant strains to say this assertion or that assertion is permissible; that’s really not usually how the regulation works on this space. You’ve received to have a look at the context—are people being threatened versus extra common statements?
You additionally should get folks to know that you will have the proper to say one thing, however is it the proper factor to do at that individual second? It’s rights and tasks—for those who’re going to stay in neighborhood, to acknowledge what that steadiness means when it comes to your individual conduct—and that’s one thing else we’ve been speaking to college students about.
4. AU is within the midst of a debate about whether or not to arm campus police. In keeping with the coed newspaper, a majority of scholars oppose that plan. Would you approve it over their objections, and why is it essential?
I haven’t made up my thoughts but. It is a nice instance of truly going via a course of, proper? And, you understand, one of many issues I really feel very strongly about is that we’ve received to coach the neighborhood about what all the problems are right here. It’s really very sophisticated: There are many campuses which have armed law enforcement officials; there are some that don’t. I was at JMU once we needed to ship officers over to Bridgewater Faculty when two of their safety officers had been killed by an armed gunman who got here to campus. Virginia Tech was simply down the street, and so they had over 30 folks killed in an assault. So a part of it’s ensuring that our college students and school and employees perceive: What are the problems concerned? What’s the connection with the [D.C.] Metropolitan Police? How does that work?
The emphasis is on campus security—that’s the purpose. After which the query is, what’s one of the best ways to attain that purpose? What we’re making an attempt to mannequin is an academic course of. I believe we’ll have a greater consequence as we discuss concerning the nuances, as we hear from the consultants in regulation enforcement on “right here’s what works, right here’s what doesn’t work,” once we hear the considerations from the neighborhood. By going via that course of, no matter resolution we attain goes to be a greater resolution. I simply don’t know what that’s going to be but, as a result of we’re not on the finish.
5. What do you suppose a second Trump time period will imply for greater schooling usually and particularly for greater ed in D.C., given his risk to finish Dwelling Rule?
I used to be not right here beforehand with the Dwelling Rule dialogue, so I’ll be curious how that performs out.
I believe loads of areas are going to vary, proper? One of many first that involves thoughts is Title IX coverage. And I believe all of us really feel—these of us [who] have been round for some time—prefer it’s been this whipsaw, forwards and backwards. With one administration, and there’s sure set of rules it’s a must to stay by, after which the subsequent one is available in, and so they go the exact opposite path. So but once more, I believe we’re going to expertise that in the case of Title IX instances, and that’s actually onerous on employees in addition to college students, since you’ve received to coach folks to understand how to do that, in line with what could be pretty sophisticated guidelines and rules.
I labored on the Workplace for Civil Rights within the U.S. Division of Schooling, and I lived via a political transition. We went from Bush I to the Clinton administration, so I’ve seen how there may very well be modifications in emphasis in civil rights enforcement, and I count on we’ll see extra of that relying on who the appointees are. And issues like scholar loans—I don’t fairly know the place that’s going to go, however my fundamental concern is that, regardless of the guidelines are, I need college students to have entry to greater schooling. I believe there’s loads of uncertainty proper now and many people are feeling quite a bit will rely on who the appointees in the end are, and definitely the secretary of schooling will play an vital position.
