This entire FAQ reads like wishcasting, barely above the level of scratching out a plan for a new university on a napkin. uaustin.org/faq
The whole finances section is just like...huh? It seems like they're thinking that eschewing public money will save them administrative burdens and administrative costs, but is this not pure fantasyland?
I mean, I hope those libertarian think tank pockets are bottomless because turning your back on any federal money sounds like tough financial sledding.
I hope there's a journalist who is jumping on this thing day one. There's going to be a heck of a story to write about the demise of IDWU (The University of Austin).
Maybe I'll be eating crow in ten years when the University of Austin is poaching students from the Ivies, but I think the odds that no one receives a fully-accredited undergraduate degree are far greater.
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Gordon Gee knows a thing or two about fundraising, and that's what that announcement for the IDWU was about. If he doesn't want to be subjected to this problem over and over again, he best back away completely.
It's actually interesting to consider who is not part of the IDWU announcement launch. Heying, but no Weinsteins? Where's Yascha Mounk? TCW? How did they decide on the invite list?
Someone in my DMs expressed fair concerns about amplifying the nascent IDWU (University of Austin) with all the mocking and criticism, and I take that concern seriously, but in this case, I don't think it's a worry. Because...
1. It's going to be amplified a lot anyway. This isn't surfacing a fringe thing and putting it into the mainstream. 2. If it is going to be a real thing, it may as well be under scrutiny from the get go. They say they have funding and are collecting $'s. Let's air it out.
3. If the money being donated was instead going to go toward something like working against climate change, better to flush it down the tube with a phantom university run by malcontents and grifters. And...
Please please please, I'm begging all cancel culture warriors to join the others at IDWU (also known as the University of Austin). Sink lots of money into this. I'm sure it will be well spent. uaustin.org
What's the over/under on the number of students enrolled in the residential liberal arts college by 2024? I'll take the under.
I had planned to write a snarky newspaper column about the "LinkedIn for Books" and then thought, what if I'm wrong, and people want this? So instead, I aired out my uncertainty at The Biblioracle Recommends. biblioracle.substack.com/p/linkedin-for…
It's interesting to consider the difference in how I approach a column for the Tribune v. the newsletter. Essentially the same audience, or a distilled version of the audience for the column, but I write and sound rather different in the newsletter.
I'm enjoying the newsletter a lot, but I just don't know how much longer I can do it for free. Unfortunately, time is a zero sum game and it takes me a decent chunk of it every week. That's probably because I do enjoy it, though.
Audiences respond strongly to clarity. Not always positively, but always strongly, and strong response give a chance at meaningful impact. But clarity isn't just about making waves or being provocative. It's being forthright, transparent, and careful...clear.
One way to see instant improvement in student writing is to give them writing problems that require clarity in response. They'll perk right up if they're given permission to unleash their genuine thoughts. Too much of school suggests we don't want that, though.
The Atlantic taketh away (Friedersdorf, Mounk, the bad Flanagan stuff), and the Atlantic giveth 👇. Said last month that this was a good idea from the magazine, but still not enough to get me to re-subscribe, unfortunately.
This is the rare case where I would much rather pay Charlie Warzel my money directly, rather than see such a good writer bundled with the same people who want to tell me that Ron DeSantis is an acceptable alternative to Trump, rather than just more Trumpism.
There may be a tipping point which brings me back to subscribing to the Atlantic, if enough writers I find vital get under the umbrella so I hold my nose and tolerate the utter nonsense that comes from some of their contributors, but as of yet, not there.