The liberally educated
person is one who is able to resist the easy and preferred answers,
not because he is obstinate but because he knows others worthy of consideration.
— Allan Bloom
With the 25th Anniversary of Allan Bloom's The Closing Of The American
Mind upon us, the absence of intellectual pluralism that Bloom decried is still depressingly upon us. There is an undeniable divide between
the Academy and larger society; a curtain has been drawn around the academy, inside of which the protection of certain ideas has trumped
intellectual exchange and a search for the truth. There should be no easy or protected answers in our schools. In the modern academy, many
certainly do not know all of the ideas worthy of consideration. Minding the Campus hopes to change that by fostering a new climate of opinion
that favors civil and honest engagement of all sides, offering an engaged debate for readers concerned with the state of the modern university.
We provide a simple central resource, featuring fresh original content and drawing upon the best from established magazines and publications,
as well as from less-visited corners, from professional journals to blogs and student publications. In connecting resources from
disparate worlds, we hope to connect their readers, fostering potential for real discussion and change. A conversation about America's
Universities is needed; look for it here.
 John Leo, Editor
John Leo is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing
editor at the Institute's City Journal. His popular column,
"On Society," ran in U.S.News & World Report for 17
years, and was syndicated to 140 newspapers through the Universal
Press Syndicate.
Leo has worked as a senior writer for Time magazine, and as a staff
reporter for the New York Times specializing in intellectual trends
and the social sciences. Among other position he has held are assistant
administrator of New York City's environmental protection administration,
editor of a Catholic newspaper in Iowa, associate editor of Commonweal,
book editor of the social science journal Trans-Action (now Society),
and "Press Clips" columnist for the Village Voice. He
is the author of three books, most recently "Incorrect Thoughts."
James Piereson, Contributing Editor
James Piereson is a Senior Fellow and Director of Manhattan Institute's
Center for the American University and president of the William
E. Simon Foundation. Mr. Piereson's research focuses on the importance
of the classical liberal education and intellectual pluralism.
Before joining the Manhattan Institute, Mr. Piereson was executive
director and trustee of the John M. Olin Foundation (1985-2005,
when, following longstanding plans, the foundation closed its doors).
In addition, he served on the Political Science faculties of several
prominent universities, including Iowa State University (1974),
Indiana University (1975), and the University of Pennsylvania (1976-82),
where he taught courses in the field of United States government
and political theory.
He is the author (with J. Sullivan and G. Marcus) of Political
Tolerance and American Democracy (University of Chicago Press,
1982).
Mr. Piereson earned a B.A. degree (1968) and a Ph.D. degree (1973)
in political science from Michigan State University.
Charlotte Allen, Contributing Editor
Charlotte Allen is a Searle Freedom Trust media fellow at the Manhattan
Institute and a contributing editor for Minding the Campus. Her articles have
appeared in City Journal, the Atlantic, the Weekly Standard,
National Review, the New Republic, Forbes, Barron's,
In Character, Lingua Franca, the Washington Monthly, the Wall
Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner,
the Los Angeles Times, and the Stanford Law and Policy Review. She is also
the author of The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus (1998).
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