Compact 2.0 and the McMahon statement: the Secretary of Education issues a call to action

Greetings from early August. For some this is vacation season, but for me it’s full-tilt work. I’m pitching a new book, ramping up video and Substack content, setting up speaking gigs and consultations through next spring, and redesigning fall classes, while dealing with a frustrating health issue. Official portrait via Wikipedia. I have a series of posts in the pipeline here, but today wanted to write about a current event. Yesterday the United States Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, sent a public letter (pdf) to the leaders of American colleges and universities, along with governing boards and some associations. It’s an important development in the Trump administration’s campaign against higher education, so I thought we could examine it and see what it might mean for the academy over the next few years. To begin with, a quick summary of the letter’s contents: it calls on colleges and universities to commit to reforming themselves along certain lines. Affordability, return on…