Twenty-five years at the helm of the National Association of Scholars (NAS) have left the author with vivid memories: of knocks and bruises, peaks of exhilaration and, especially, unforgettable characters. But as for lessons learned, that's a very different story. In this article, the author shares some of the successes that happened in NAS for…

One thing history's torrent appears to be sweeping away is, ironically, the study of its most productive wellspring, Western civilization. "The Vanishing West", a report the National Association of Scholars released in May 2011, documents the extent of this vanishing. The traditional Western civilization survey requirement, commonplace only…

Today's trustees have the central role of choosing university presidents, and often provide valued advice on management of the institutional fisc. But according to the now accepted gospel of "shared governance," when it comes to the heart of academic practice, curriculum, and scholarship, theirs, despite theoretic power, is mainly a task of…

The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is now entering its twentieth year. The organization has grown over ten-fold since their national launch. When NAS made its debut, today's extensive infrastructure for higher education reform did not yet exist. In this article, the author discusses the contributions of NAS to the academe. The author also…

In pausing to reflect on twenty years service tending the fragile vineyards of higher education reform as president and one of the founders of the National Association of Scholars, Stephen H. Balch stops to toast his hardy fellow vintners. Dr. Balch raises a weary but wiser glass to those who across the years and in many states have braved harsh…

Hard science is properly value neutral. But when that ideological neutrality extends to the whole university, the traditional foundation crumbles. Steve Balch laments the moral vacuum that now substitutes for fundamental principles, because it is impossible to frame a program of education--especially in the humanities and social sciences--without…

Authorities in America have traditionally left governance of pubic universities to faculty and administrators, under a presumption of academic freedom and an apparent trust that all was well. This hands-off policy persisted as radicals virtually extinguished intellectual pluralism. Throughout the process, the NAS has seen successes in a campaign…

In the humanities and social sciences--where partisan passions color research and teaching--higher education tends to become an intellectually closed shop. Stephen Balch recommends that, in such fields, the intellectual marketplace be reopened through a reconfiguring of academic governance informed by Madisonian principles. He contends that policy…