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At the October 2024 Board meeting, President Rob Manzer reported on his involvement with the national conversation on post-secondary accreditation reform. His work has included regular participation in the American Enterprise Institute (DC) Accreditation Reform Working Group and the Higher Education Working Group. His report, “The American University’s Path to Illiberalism” was published in the AEI Higher Education Policy Catalog. In April he provided a briefing on accreditation reform to the Defense of Freedom Policy Group and in May, he participated in the National Association of Scholars webinar, “The Future of Accreditation”. Rob concluded his report to the AALE Board stating that, “AALE remains a distinctive asset in the broader market of post-secondary and K-12 accreditation. National conversations focusing on reforms to post-secondary accreditation continue. However which reforms will be pursued or brought into play will be determined by the results of the upcoming national election.”

Annual elections were held at the June 2024 Board meeting. Board of Trustees members, Steve Balch, an independent scholar in Lubbock, TX was elected to a third 4-year term and Joshua Hochschild, Professor of Philosophy at Mount Saint Mary’s University (MD) was elected to a second 4-year term. Robert Manzer was reappointed as President.

Two new members were elected to the Council of Scholars – Dr. Karen Price and Dr. Peter Ulrickson. Karen is the Vice Provost and Dean of Instructional Effectiveness at Belmont Abbey College (NC). She has extensive experience with program evaluation, strategic planning and student learning outcomes assessment. Karen has published on alternate assessment in the Journal of Special Education and on measuring student engagement in the Journal of Continuing Higher Education. Peter is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Catholic University of America (DC). He has published in Communications and Algebra and is the author of the math text A Brief Quadrivium and the companion text Teaching the Quadrivium-A Guide for Instructors.

The American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) held annual elections on June 13, 2023. Board of Trustee member Gary Kelly, a consultant and attorney in New York was reelected for a second four-year term and Robert Manzer was re-appointed as president. A new Council of Scholars member Rudy Hernandez was elected.
Rudy Hernandez is the Director of Undergraduate Studies-Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science at Missouri University, Columbia (MO). His research focuses on political theory and American political development. Recently his work has appeared in The Political Science Reviewer. He has prior government experience, including having been in AmeriCorps, having worked as a tax examiner in the U.S. Treasury Department, and eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve.  Rudy received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Louisiana State University and his B.A. from St. John’s College-Annapolis (MD).

AALE’s president, Dr. Robert Manzer is the author of a recent report “The American University’s Path to Illiberalism”, published by the American Enterprise Institute. The report examines the slide of American universities into illiberalism – a slide, which according to Manzer did not happen overnight. The report presents the view that “the current campus phenomena we are witnessing are partly a result of a decades-long assault on the faculty’s role and standing on campus. The full report is available at The American University’s Path to Illiberalism | American Enterprise Institute – AEI