Afternoon Update: Opinion: Political Litmus Tests Are Bad for Higher Education

Open inquiry is under attack from both the left and the right. ADVERTISEMENT [Academe Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. What we’re thinking about. You’re reading an experimental new version of the Afternoon Update. This newsletter may look different for the next week. Please send feedback to fernanda@chronicle.com. It’s Monday, and we’re playing catch-up. On Saturday a [federal appeals court]( temporarily [suspended]( President Biden’s vaccination mandate for employers, including private and some public colleges. The Biden [rule]( mandates employers with more than 100 workers to [require coronavirus vaccines]( or regular Covid-19 tests for their employees by January 4. A White House spokesman said he was confident the rule would be upheld. Jim Hayford, Seattle University’s men’s basketball coach, was [placed on administrative leave]( while the college investigates an incident in which he allegedly used a racial slur, the institution announced on Saturday. Hayford allegedly [repeated the slur]( when questioning whether a player had used the word during a scrimmage. And Twitter is buzzing about a plan to open a new university, the University of Austin, led by Pano Kanelos, a former president of St. John’s College, in Annapolis, Md. [Kanelos bills his institution]( as the antidote to campuses that “chill speech” and “ostracize those with unpopular viewpoints.” He’ll be joined, he said, by such big-name scholars and public intellectuals as [Steven Pinker]( [Jonathan Haidt]( Caitlin Flanagan, and Nadine Strossen. For what it’s worth, [the]( website went down]( after the announcement, but [you can read more on the Way](//www.uaustin.org/)[b](//www.uaustin.org/)[ack Machine](//www.uaustin.org/). ADVERTISEMENT THE REVIEW [Political Litmus Tests Are Bad for Higher Education]( By Jeffrey Aaron Snyder [STORY IMAGE]( Open inquiry is under attack from both the left and the right. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. ADVICE [When, and Why, I’ll Retire]( By Jonathan Zimmerman [STORY IMAGE]( A senior professor offers his college a deal: Replace me with a tenure-track hire, and I’ll opt for emeritus life. DATA [How the Onset of the Pandemic Affected the 2020 Admissions Season]( By Jacquelyn Elias [STORY IMAGE]( Colleges accepted far more students in 2020 than they did the year before. Meanwhile, the yield went down. STUDENTS [Apply for The Chronicle’s Spring Reporting Internship]( By Sarah Brown Are you an early-career journalist? We want you to apply for our paid internship. Here’s how. SPONSOR CONTENT | Salesforce.org [The Growing Potential of Chatbots in Higher Education]( ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [The New Academic Workplace]( [The New Academic Workplace]( Assess flexible-work options for your staff and keep a competitive edge with this report full of expert advice and case studies, including data from a Chronicle survey of administrators and human-resource professionals. [Visit the store to order your copy.]( JOB OPPORTUNITIES Apply for the top jobs in higher education and [search all our open positions](. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( | [It was ok]( | [Loved it]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2021 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037