I’d love to hear your thoughts on what appears to be the collapse of the Ivies. You called this one, a long time ago.
Ron Murphy
Hi Ron
Like a lot of people, I was disgusted by what I heard from the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn. I wasn’t exactly stunned by what was said, but I was surprised by the tenor and tone on display. Liz McGill in particular, who I understand just resigned from UPenn, was appalling in her smugness. I’m glad she stepped aside, and I hope the other two have the good sense to follow her example. I suspect if enough people watch the attached video, they will. I was also delighted to see a flurry of enraged alumni rescind their financial support, including Ross Stevens, the CEO of Stone River Assets, who withdrew a $100 million gift to UPenn. The only thing that would please me more, would be to see Mr. Stevens redirect his largess to any number of trade schools, currently training the next generation of skilled workers, which are in woefully short supply.
Obviously, I’m biased. For the last fifteen years, I’ve been running a foundation that awards work ethic scholarships to people who do not wish to attain a four-year degree, and frankly, I’ve never felt better about the goals of mikeroweWORKS. Don’t misunderstand – I get the critical importance of the pursuit of higher education and advanced degrees. But a four-year degree is not now, and never has been “the best path for the most people.” Only the most expensive path. And watching these Ivy presidents testify – presidents who preside over endowments worth nearly 100 billion combined dollars – reinforces my disgust with the “College for All” mentality, and the push for student loan forgiveness. How can anyone with a sense of fairness demand that hardworking individuals without a four-year degree – the kind of workers my foundation helps train – pay for diplomas purchased by people who could not afford them?
For what it’s worth, I doubt these women are as racist as they sound. I could be wrong, but I think what we witnessed this week, were a trio of elitists desperate to hang on to their jobs. These women rose to the very top of higher education by playing a game whose rules were set by people who care less about education, and more about diversity, equity, inclusion, and all the self-righteous virtue signaling that comes with it. They were all so determined not to say the wrong thing, they couldn’t say the right thing. In fact, they couldn’t say anything. These are same people who would sanction a student for “misgendering” someone, but couldn’t condemn myriad calls for another Jewish genocide on their own campus. It was an extraordinary thing to watch.
To be clear, I didn’t call this one, Ron. While I have been consistently dubious about the “college for all” mantra, and contemptuous of the coddling that goes on in so many universities, I didn’t foresee a day when the leaders of our most esteemed institutions would sink to this level. But, they did, and I’m certainly not beyond using this unfortunate moment to remind folks that mikeroweWORKS is fifteen years old this year, and more committed than ever to helping train the next generation of welders, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and so forth. If you’re inclined to make a donation, (Hi, Ross Stevens!!), you can do so today at mikeroweWORKS.com. I can assure you the money will be scrupulously awarded to those applicants who demonstrate a level of work ethic and personal responsibility we wish to encourage. Students who wish to get the training they need in America’s trade schools. Trade schools where, to the best of my knowledge, the students don’t call for genocide, and the presidents wouldn’t tolerate it if they did.
CBN News YouTube video: Stefanik GRILLS Univ. Presidents Over ‘Shameful’ Anti-Semitism Testimony, Donor Yanks $100m Gift
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