Losing SLACs (small liberal arts colleges) is absolutely a sign of American academia's decline and the gutting of the humanities in particular.
I'm pretty sure SLACs are a uniquely American phenomenon. Most countries don't have hundreds of small, non-research-oriented colleges dedicated to teaching.
I'm pretty sure SLACs are a uniquely American phenomenon. Most countries don't have hundreds of small, non-research-oriented colleges dedicated to teaching.
Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it damn it this sucks
Hampshire College closing its doors at end of fall semester
Hampshire College’s board of trustees has announced that the college will be closing at the end of the year.
www.westernmassnews.com
April 14, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Losing SLACs (small liberal arts colleges) is absolutely a sign of American academia's decline and the gutting of the humanities in particular.
I'm pretty sure SLACs are a uniquely American phenomenon. Most countries don't have hundreds of small, non-research-oriented colleges dedicated to teaching.
I'm pretty sure SLACs are a uniquely American phenomenon. Most countries don't have hundreds of small, non-research-oriented colleges dedicated to teaching.
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
November 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
Our kid visited Hampshire and a lot of other SLACs and ended up at Oberlin. I worry about whether these weird corners are allowed to thrive in the current climate, have seen what SLACs are doing to survive and it is not good.
April 14, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Our kid visited Hampshire and a lot of other SLACs and ended up at Oberlin. I worry about whether these weird corners are allowed to thrive in the current climate, have seen what SLACs are doing to survive and it is not good.
Buddy, if slacs were ready for higher ed scholars...
April 22, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Buddy, if slacs were ready for higher ed scholars...
I’ll praise Williams College (and most SLACs🥰) over Harvard any day of the week!
June 8, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I’ll praise Williams College (and most SLACs🥰) over Harvard any day of the week!
just the overrepresentation of SLACs on bluesky
September 25, 2026 at 5:33 PM
just the overrepresentation of SLACs on bluesky
He runs one of the dumb SLACs that teaches geometry exclusively through Euclid and makes a huge fuss of ancient languages but only teaches Latin, IIRC.
June 14, 2026 at 11:27 PM
He runs one of the dumb SLACs that teaches geometry exclusively through Euclid and makes a huge fuss of ancient languages but only teaches Latin, IIRC.
This is how they’re going after the SLACs because they don’t rely that much on research funds. It’s all about destroying colleges and universities.
February 26, 2025 at 1:53 AM
This is how they’re going after the SLACs because they don’t rely that much on research funds. It’s all about destroying colleges and universities.
I'm less of a doomer on higher ed than some people, I think we underestimate just how durable these institutions can be, but I don't see any way that a near term outcome of this isn't that programs like gender studies don't end up the exclusive provenance of very rich private SLACs for a bit.
February 17, 2025 at 4:45 AM
I'm less of a doomer on higher ed than some people, I think we underestimate just how durable these institutions can be, but I don't see any way that a near term outcome of this isn't that programs like gender studies don't end up the exclusive provenance of very rich private SLACs for a bit.
cognitive sabotage, you can ban it
extra credit to U Chicago for bans on professional AND undergrad programs; smart SLACs are going to market AI free campuses soon
chicagomaroon.com/53262/news/s...
extra credit to U Chicago for bans on professional AND undergrad programs; smart SLACs are going to market AI free campuses soon
chicagomaroon.com/53262/news/s...
August 23, 2026 at 6:18 PM
cognitive sabotage, you can ban it
extra credit to U Chicago for bans on professional AND undergrad programs; smart SLACs are going to market AI free campuses soon
chicagomaroon.com/53262/news/s...
extra credit to U Chicago for bans on professional AND undergrad programs; smart SLACs are going to market AI free campuses soon
chicagomaroon.com/53262/news/s...
With all due respect to my friends and colleagues at ivy and ivy-adjacent places, people from those institutions cannot the only voices of the historical profession. Community colleges, regional publics, teaching-focused SLACs, public historians--we are immersed in "the public" each and every day.
August 7, 2025 at 12:21 PM
With all due respect to my friends and colleagues at ivy and ivy-adjacent places, people from those institutions cannot the only voices of the historical profession. Community colleges, regional publics, teaching-focused SLACs, public historians--we are immersed in "the public" each and every day.
This accords with my sense that SLACs like Williams will be among the few higher ed. institutions in the U.S. that will be able to reject these strings-attached federal grants & still get by.
Now is the time for well-resourced SLACs to step up and be among the vanguard.
Now is the time for well-resourced SLACs to step up and be among the vanguard.
This is a tough one, but I think Williams is doing the right thing here.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. college is first to decline federal science grants because of new DEI language
Williams College says NSF and NIH requirement related to discrimination “undermines” academic freedom
www.science.org
June 6, 2025 at 10:11 PM
This accords with my sense that SLACs like Williams will be among the few higher ed. institutions in the U.S. that will be able to reject these strings-attached federal grants & still get by.
Now is the time for well-resourced SLACs to step up and be among the vanguard.
Now is the time for well-resourced SLACs to step up and be among the vanguard.
I went to a non-selective state school for undergrad, an ivy for grad, taught at a british uni, a UC, and 2 SLACs and I was never aware of "debate club" where did these disgusting perverts come from
September 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I went to a non-selective state school for undergrad, an ivy for grad, taught at a british uni, a UC, and 2 SLACs and I was never aware of "debate club" where did these disgusting perverts come from
A ton of small-town red-state SLACs are gonna die.
The White House just blasted this out under the headline "Good News You May Have Missed"
November 20, 2025 at 2:35 AM
A ton of small-town red-state SLACs are gonna die.
And follow @wearehighered.bsky.social to stay informed about all kinds of efforts to stand up for higher ed across the country, from R1s to SLACs to regional public institutions and community colleges. Together, We Are Higher Ed.
bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd
bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd
March 30, 2025 at 9:36 PM
And follow @wearehighered.bsky.social to stay informed about all kinds of efforts to stand up for higher ed across the country, from R1s to SLACs to regional public institutions and community colleges. Together, We Are Higher Ed.
bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd
bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd
"smart SLACs are going to market AI free campuses soon"
Agree.
Regionals need to do this too.
Agree.
Regionals need to do this too.
August 23, 2026 at 8:58 PM
"smart SLACs are going to market AI free campuses soon"
Agree.
Regionals need to do this too.
Agree.
Regionals need to do this too.
Which, yeah, their economy is built on agricultural commodity exports to China and SLACs, and Trump has attempted to kill both.
February 15, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Which, yeah, their economy is built on agricultural commodity exports to China and SLACs, and Trump has attempted to kill both.
SLACs and lower tier universities jumping on every STEM trend while cutting history have not been making clear headed wise financial choices
February 8, 2025 at 8:07 AM
SLACs and lower tier universities jumping on every STEM trend while cutting history have not been making clear headed wise financial choices
WSJ had an interesting article about SLACs struggling, here is the gift link: www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
www.wsj.com
April 14, 2026 at 2:10 PM
WSJ had an interesting article about SLACs struggling, here is the gift link: www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
i know this doesnt work bc now these people think all SLACs are hamas terror cells but it never fails to amaze me that they are doing the swarthy foreigner with ambiguous motivations thing for a guy who went to bronx science and then college in maine
June 28, 2025 at 1:15 AM
i know this doesnt work bc now these people think all SLACs are hamas terror cells but it never fails to amaze me that they are doing the swarthy foreigner with ambiguous motivations thing for a guy who went to bronx science and then college in maine
This is like three specific people on the faculties of, at most, two unique SLACs
Literally making up a guy to get mad at
July 24, 2025 at 7:24 PM
This is like three specific people on the faculties of, at most, two unique SLACs
I agree. I think elite SLACs will be at the forefront of this.
The first school to market itself as AI free is going to corner the market on people interested in actually learning. And I would not be surprised if rich families and the children of people creating this tech were the first movers.
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 5, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I agree. I think elite SLACs will be at the forefront of this.
Of course, the problem is our teaching loads and service obligations are heavy enough go put significant constraints on our time. The media ecosystem runs on networks of prestige. Third-tier state schools or community colleges or open-enrollment SLACs aren't seen as "real colleges." Amd so it goes.
August 7, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Of course, the problem is our teaching loads and service obligations are heavy enough go put significant constraints on our time. The media ecosystem runs on networks of prestige. Third-tier state schools or community colleges or open-enrollment SLACs aren't seen as "real colleges." Amd so it goes.
Would also like to add: no more articles about “academia” that are only about the ivies or SLACs. there are literally thousands of other academic institutions in this country
Alright, I'm putting a line in the stand:
No more 'why I left academia' takes from dudes that never got their monograph out (in book fields).
'oh sure, I got a gold-plated academic job and bailed out in advance of the tenure decision without a book out, but it was BECAUSE OF WOKE!!'
Sure, buddy.
No more 'why I left academia' takes from dudes that never got their monograph out (in book fields).
'oh sure, I got a gold-plated academic job and bailed out in advance of the tenure decision without a book out, but it was BECAUSE OF WOKE!!'
Sure, buddy.
August 10, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Would also like to add: no more articles about “academia” that are only about the ivies or SLACs. there are literally thousands of other academic institutions in this country