The following is a transcript of the speech opening the Western Civilization Summit on June 8, 2015, at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Headquarters.
Higher Education
Don’t Shrink the Core. Fix It.
Just how bad is American higher education today? Consider this observation on today’s college students from Jessica Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine: “It’s not even an inability to critically think. It’s an inability to read sentences.” She is not alone. Professors at elite colleges report that many incoming students arrive...
July 31, 2026