In this timely episode, FAIR Executive Director Monica Harris, joined by Gabriel Nadales and Suzannah Alexander, examines the troubling rise of mandated ideological conformity across professional education programs with Zander Keig and Nafees Alam. Following FAIR's groundbreaking formal complaint to the Department of Education against CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs) for compelling students to adopt specific ideological positions on race and privilege, the panel explores how similar patterns of coerced belief systems have infiltrated social work, medical, legal, and K-12 education programs nationwide. The discussion delves into real-world consequences for students who face academic penalties for expressing dissenting views or religious beliefs that conflict with prescribed ideologies, while offering concrete strategies for promoting genuine viewpoint diversity and protecting students' constitutional rights. As the conversation unfolds, the panelists thoughtfully consider whether FAIR's approach to challenging CACREP could serve as a model for addressing ideological conformity enforced by other accrediting bodies, such as the CSWE (Council on Social Work Education), ultimately asking whether the time has come for a broader movement to restore intellectual freedom and critical thinking in professional education.
Podcast notes
FAIR is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civil rights and liberties, and promoting a common culture grounded in fairness, understanding, and humanity.
Check out FAIR at https://www.fairforall.org/ and their "American Experience Curriculum" at https://www.fairforall.org/american-experience-curriculum/
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Join the conversation in our June Liberal Values Panel Discussion, Reimagining the Academy: AI, Liberal Education, and the Future of Learning.
This panel examines the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on higher education within the context of liberal values. As AI technologies reshape teaching methodologies, research capabilities, and institutional operations, we explore how colleges and universities can integrate these tools while preserving the core tenets of liberal education—critical thinking, intellectual pluralism, and the pursuit of knowledge as a public good. Distinguished panelists will address pressing questions about academic integrity in an era of generative AI, the ethics of algorithmic decision-making in admissions and assessment, and how technological innovation might either exacerbate or ameliorate existing inequalities in higher education access. The discussion aims to articulate a vision for AI adoption that enhances rather than diminishes the humanistic foundations of higher learning, balancing technological efficiency with the enduring values of open inquiry and democratic education.
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