"Whither the Looniversity?" - A Podcast on the Miserable State of the American University

Dr. Aryeh Kontorovich, Prof. of Computer Science, Ben Gurion University, Israel

Dr. Kontorovich is a professor of computer science at Ben Gurion University in Israel, where his research focuses on machine learning, Markov chains, probability, and statistics. Recently, he has been working with ChatGPT and has had some success in demonstrating its limitations when it comes to logic, reasoning, and humor. We discuss the future implications of AI for teaching and learning in higher education. Dr. Kontorovich comes from a family of Russian Jewish academics, and we also discuss why so many scholars with family ties to the old Soviet Union have been so vocal in their criticism of wokeness and the DEI agenda in universities.

Dr. Tabia Lee, Former Faculty Director, De Anza College

Dr. Lee was a director of the Office of Equity, Social Justice, and Multicultural Education at De Anza College...until she started asking the wrong questions. After second-guessing the DEI and "anti-racist" policies in her department, Lee found that she had a target on her back. Although De Anza hired her to rein in the excesses of wokeness in the Office of Equity, she was ultimately fired. We talk about what happened...and whether dogmatic notions of diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and antiracism can be redeemed on American campuses.

Dr. Rob Jenkins, Prof. of English, Georgia State U - Perimeter College

Prof. Jenkins is associate professor of English at Georgia State University Perimeter College. He has served as both professor and dean at a number of different universities. As a Higher Education Fellow at the Leadership Institute's Campus Reform Online, he frequently writes about a number of problems in American schools. Further, he frequently gives training and talks on the topic of institutional leadership. We discuss the recent history of the English department in America, and we discuss how the DEI/woke agenda in higher education will impact students' capacities for leadership.

John Sailer, Senior Fellow and Director of University Policy, National Association of Scholars

John Sailer is Senior Fellow and Director of University Policy for the National Association of Scholars (NAS), where his reporting on the implementation of DEI in university hiring has actually produced reforms in various institutions across the country. His work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, The Free Press, Unherd, and more. We discuss strategies for effectively fighting the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda in higher education.

Dr. Scott Yenor, Professor of Political Philosophy at Boise State, Washington Fellow at Claremont's Center for the American Way of Life

Prof. Yenor teaches political philosophy at Boise State University. Recently, he accepted a position as a Washington Fellow at the Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life. Yenor's most recent book is entitled "The Recovery of Family Life: Exposing the Limits of Modern Ideologies." His talks at the National Conservatism conference on the subjects of feminism and the sexual revolution have triggered the campus left, the acolytes of which continue to nip at his heels. We discuss policy interventions that might counter the excesses of wokeness on America's university campuses and the in-roads that Gov. Ron DeSantis has made in Florida.