The Dispatch and was formerly a senior writer for
National Review. David is a New York Times bestselling author, and his most recent book,
Divided We Fall: America s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation, was released by St. Martin s Press in 2020. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the past president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and a former lecturer at Cornell Law School. He has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. David is a former major in the United States Army Reserve. In 2007, he deployed to Iraq, serving in Diyala Province as Squadron Judge Advocate for the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He lives and works in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife, Nancy, and his three children.
Universities face pressure to vet ex-Trump officials before hiring them Marisa Iati, Lauren Lumpkin Richard Grenell, a former Trump administration official, speaks to reporters at the White House in September. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) There is a long tradition of political appointees moving into academia former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice returned to Stanford University as a professor, ex-CIA director Robert Gates was a dean and then president at Texas A&M University, and former secretary of health and human services Sylvia Mathews Burwell is president of American University. But in recent months, some students and faculty have argued colleges should apply more scrutiny to former Trump officials looking to make similar transitions.
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Joe Biden entered the White House this week with high and wide-ranging expectations from higher education leaders, advocates for survivors of sexual violence and students for how his new administration will require colleges to handle and reduce sexual assault on college campuses.
In addition to addressing the public health and economic consequences of the pandemic, supporting the ongoing movement for social justice and equity for Black Americans, and trying to unite a politically polarized population, President Biden has also promised to strengthen Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded institutions, which mandates how colleges should respond to student reports of sexual misconduct.
‘Almost all’ his colleagues defamed him, too
Timothy Jackson followed through on his threat to sue the University of Northern Texas for investigating him in response to his defense of a 19th century composer.
The “distinguished university research professor” accused the Board of Regents of First Amendment retaliation in response to Jackson’s criticism of a black peer who called Heinrich Schenker (
above) “an ardent racist and German nationalist.”
He’s also claiming defamation by a graduate student and 17 colleagues in the Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology. They promoted claims that he engaged in “particularly racist” actions and “platform[ed] … racist sentiments” in the
Recently, Professor Filipe Castro, a tenured anthropology professor at Texas A&M, was fired for alleged classroom misconduct. Some might say good riddance, while other students and faculty are concerned about the implications this could have on the university and Castro himself. Last spring, I was in Castroâs anthropology class Peoples and Cultures of the World. From the beginning, Castro was a controversial but entertaining figure. He did not hold back on his opinions or morbid sense of humor, especially on the subject of politics. He lambasted mainstream liberals and conservatives alike. In his most graphic attacks during my class, Castro said that he wanted to strangle President Donald Trump with President-elect Joe Bidenâs entrails. A&Mâs investigation recounted this as a hanging instead of a strangulation, but thereâs nothing wrong with occasionally rehashing material.Â