The Shifting Landscape Of Higher Education

This episode of Fresh Air features an interview with Katherine Mangan, a senior writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education, discussing her investigation into how George Mason University has become a target in what appears to be a coordinated political campaign. Mangan details the federal probes and accusations of anti-Semitism and DEI violations against the university and its president, Gregory Washington, amid a broader national trend of scrutiny towards higher education institutions. The conversation explores the political motivations behind these investigations, the impact on university autonomy, and the implications for diversity and inclusion efforts on college campuses, including the challenges universities face in navigating these pressures and the potential effects on students. The episode also touches on Columbia University's settlement over similar claims and a jazz historian, Kevin Whitehead, reviews James Moody, 80 years young, live from the Blue Note.