Resources
Explore the gallery of resources from each of the seminar sessions below. Readings and a summary of the previous seminar will be posted one week prior to each meeting, and any slides or resources referenced during the seminar will be posted in the week following.
Contact sawyerseminar@ku.edu with questions or if you need assistance accessing seminar materials.
Resources by Seminar Theme
Suggested Readings
- Kalven, Harry, John Hope Franklin, Gwin J. Kolb, George Stigler, Jacob Getzels, Julian Goldsmith, and Gilbert F. White. “Kalven Committee: Report on the University’s Role In Social and Political Action.” The University of Chicago Office of the Provost, November 11, 1967. https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/Kalv….
Summary & Slides
Suggested Readings
- Cantwell, Brendan. “Higher Ed Is Trapped in Trump’s Chaos.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 4, 2025. https://www.chronicle.com/article/higher-ed-is-trapped-in-trumps-chaos.
Summary & Slides
Suggested Readings
- Merriman, Ben. "An Incomplete and Idiosyncratic Answer to the Question: What do the University of Kansas and the State of Kansas Owe Each Other?"
- Yale University. 2026. "Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education."
- Hatch, Ben et al. "What is College For?"
Supplemental Material
- ASA Research. “State Funding Update: The Fiscal and Political Crossroads Facing Public Higher Education.” NEA Research, October 2025. https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2025-10/fy2026-state-funding-br….
- Borjas, George J., and Nate Breznau. “Ideological Bias in the Production of Research Findings.” Science Advances 12, no. 1 (January 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz7173.
- Kahlenberg, Richard D., and Lief Lin. “The Distortion of American Studies: How the Field’s Leading Journal Has Embraced a Worldview as Slanted as Donald Trump’s.” ppi: radically pragmatic, January 22, 2026. https://www.progressivepolicy.org/the-distortion-of-american-studies/.
- Manzi, James. “The Ideological Orientation of Academic Social Science Research 1960–2024.” Theory and Society 55, no. 25 (March 16, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-026-09690-2.
- Sturm, Belinda, Patricia Bergman, Donna Ginther, Beth Montelone, and Coleen Pugh. “Kansas Science + Technology Plan.” The Kansas Board of Regents, August 1, 2021. https://www.kansasregents.gov/resources/PDF/Kansas_Science__Technology_….
Check back here throughout the seminar series to review the key terms that keep coming up.