STANFORD ALUMNI
FOR FREE SPEECH AND
CRITICAL THINKING

 

June 15, 2026

 

NIH Director and Stanford Prof. Emeritus Jay Bhattacharya on Scientific Inquiry

 

Excerpts:

. . . . 

“The first of these problems is the replication crisis. Scientists publish studies today; we hear about their findings on TV, in newspapers, and on podcasts; and we (and even our doctors) take them for granted. But then when other scientists ask the same questions and perform the same experiments, they do not come up with the same results. That means that a lot of the science we (and our doctors) take for granted is not actually true.

 

“Are eggs good for us? I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, when eggs were considered the next worst thing to poison. I didn’t eat an egg until I was 19, and then it was a tasteless egg white omelet, since only the whites of eggs were considered healthy in the 1990s. But today eggs are considered a superfood! There are so many examples like this, and at the root of the confusion is the replication crisis.

 

“How do we address this? We begin by recognizing the fact that most ideas hatched by scientists do not work or are not true. That is completely normal in science and always has been. John Ioannidis, a former colleague of mine at Stanford and one of the most frequently cited scientists in the world, wrote a paper in 2005 entitled, ‘Why Most Published Research Findings Are False.’ He was correct, and the reason for this is that science is hard. That is why it is frustrating to be a scientist -- and why, to be a good scientist, an essential requirement is epistemic humility....

 

“The only effective way for scientists to check one another is through replication. If I write a paper proposing a theory, I will present the experiments that I used to come up with that theory. If I am right, other scientists should be able to replicate those same experiments and come up with the same answer. That is narrow replication. Even better is reproducibility, by which other people use a different method to come up with the same answer to the question. This is how science operated in the past, and we must return to it if science is to regain the public trust....

 

“The second problem we need to address is scientific stagnation -- the problem that for every dollar we spend on science today, we get far less scientific advancement than we did over the past five decades. Another way of looking at this is that for every additional research paper in biomedicine, there are fewer improvements in health per paper....

 

“The third problem to be addressed is the fact that about one third of all NIH grant money goes to about 20 institutions, despite the fact that there are excellent scientists all across the country. In order to make the kinds of advances that lead to better health for Americans, we have to empower young and innovative scientists wherever they are. If they have a new and promising idea, we should be funding them.” ...

 

Full text of speech at Imprimis. 

 

Equity Without Excellence Is Not Equal at All

 

Excerpts:

 

"More than 1,100 mathematics and science professors across the University of California system recently issued an extraordinary warning. They urged university leaders to reconsider the elimination of SAT and ACT testing for students seeking admission into STEM fields, arguing that many incoming students lack the mathematical preparation necessary to succeed in rigorous science and engineering coursework.

 

". . . For more than a decade, policymakers and educational leaders have increasingly responded to achievement gaps by reducing or eliminating measures of academic performance. Standardized tests, grading systems, selective admissions criteria, and advanced academic programs have all come under scrutiny as potential barriers to equity.

 

"Unfortunately, educational outcomes suggest growing cause for concern. Reading and mathematics achievement remain below pre-pandemic levels nationwide. Remedial coursework remains common at many colleges. Employers frequently report difficulty finding workers with the skills necessary for technical occupations. The challenge is not simply a labor shortage. It is increasingly a skills shortage.

 

"True educational equity requires helping more students meet high standards—not redefining success so that standards disappear.

 

"The University of California professors have identified an uncomfortable reality. Achievement gaps cannot be solved by eliminating measures of achievement. Workforce shortages cannot be solved by graduating students who lack foundational skills. And economic competitiveness cannot be sustained if educational institutions become reluctant to distinguish between preparation and aspiration.

 

"The path forward is not complicated, though it requires political courage. Schools should maintain rigorous academic standards while expanding tutoring, mentoring, advanced coursework, career pathways, and targeted interventions for struggling students. Policymakers should focus less on equalizing outcomes and more on expanding the number of students capable of meeting high expectations.

 

"America's future prosperity depends on the quality of its human capital. A nation that lowers expectations in pursuit of equity risks achieving neither excellence nor fairness." ...

 

Full article at Real Clear Education.

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America’s Universities Have Become Echo Chambers

 

Excerpts (links in the original):

 

“Another academic year has wrapped up, and another batch of college graduates has walked across the stage to accept diplomas of declining value. Even the graduation ceremonies have lost their historic luster, as only ideologically approved speakers can provide commencement addresses. Any speaker who might bring a serious message is either disinvited or not considered in the first place. 

 

“American sentiment about the value of a college education is in steep decline. Pew Research Center polling indicates seven in 10 Americans believe higher education is 'going in the wrong direction.' And a recent Fox News poll reports nearly two-thirds of respondents believe a college degree is less important to individual success compared to 25 years ago. 

 

“University administrators should use the summer recess to acknowledge what has led to this downturn in public confidence. 

The market is speaking to the higher education establishment -- pricey administrators might descend from their ivory towers to listen….

 

“FIRE researcher Angela Erickson points out that faculty are concentrated in an extremely narrow ideological range, raising 'serious concerns about whether students and scholars are getting the full benefit of the open inquiry universities promise.' This result confirms another study showing viewpoint imbalance, with conservative and even centrist faculty becoming endangered species on campus….

 

“The American Council of Trustees and Alumni has evaluated the academic programs of more than a thousand colleges and universities across the nation, and the findings show a general weakening over the years of basic curricular requirements for graduation.

 

“For example, only half of the evaluated colleges require a math class for graduation. Only one in five requires a course in American government or history, and only one in four requires the study of literature. Just 3 percent of college graduates nationwide are required to have a course in economics.” …

 

Full op-ed by DePauw Prof. Jeffrey M. McCall at Real Clear Politics.

 

The Hidden Cost of College Isn’t Money

 

Excerpts:

 

"Late last year, members of Congress met to scrutinize college costs and to press institutions to be more transparent about what students pay and what they get in return. But while the hearing focused on dollars and cents, the price of college takes many forms.

  

"Much of the conversation around the issue rightly focuses on upfront costs. Tuition, fees, and student debt remain critical barriers, and financial stress remains the number one reason students drop out. But there is another, less visible toll that often goes overlooked. The hidden cost of college isn’t just money. It’s time and opportunity.

 

"When institutions don’t intentionally map and communicate program requirements and leave critical information scattered across systems, students can’t clearly see how requirements align with their goals or how courses stack toward completion. They stumble, slow down, lose momentum, or leave altogether. Institutions should instead map requirements in ways that allow students to see their progress, understand what counts, and explore multiple on-ramps to careers.

 

"Higher education should not come with hidden costs. The time students invest and the opportunities they forfeit while waiting to graduate should be minimized by design, not left to chance. When students can clearly see their trajectory from their first class to the first day of their career, they finish more quickly and with greater purpose. They save money, enter the workforce sooner, and bring greater confidence and stronger skills to employers." ...

 

Full article at eCampusNews.

 

The SAT Is Back, but Is There a Better Alternative?

 

Excerpts (links in original):

 

"On the surface, the Classic Learning Test (CLT) doesn’t seem all that revolutionary. It’s a two-hour test of reading, grammar, and math, taken by high school seniors as an alternative to the SAT or ACT. There are a few important differences though. Unlike the better-known tests, the texts are Western canon, not news article clips or the Common Core. There is no calculator. The reading passages are more than a few hundred words. The test does not get easier every year if students perform poorly.

 

"The point of the CLT is to make college entrance academically rigorous again, so kids rise to the challenge -- and so, ultimately, every high school classroom in America starts teaching the classics again.

 

"In the last decade, our college entrance exams have been steadily dumbed down. The 2005 redesign of the SAT removed all logic questions and analogies, because these were 'less connected to the current high school curriculum,' per the College Board. In 2016, in another redesign, the penalty for wrong answers was removed, and the essay portion became optional. (By 2021, the latter had been abolished, because of declining participation.) A no-calculator math section was added as a nod to rigor, but was eliminated entirely in 2024, when the test went fully digital.

 

"There's more: The SAT reading passages were once around 500 and 750 words, before the test went digital; today, the longest is 150 words and the shortest is 25, a single sentence. The College Board’s own explanation is that shorter content helps 'students who might have struggled to connect with the subject matter.'

 

"These days, GPA increasingly has its problems, too. When a student can produce a polished essay or complete a problem set with AI, their transcript stops being a reliable signal of anything.

 

"The verbal section is where the CLT most visibly parts ways with its competitors. Where the SAT serves up paragraphs the length of a tweet, the CLT asks students to read and analyze passages from Aristotle on ethics, Augustine on the nature of truth, Flannery O’Connor on the vocation of fiction, and John Henry Newman on the idea of a university.

 

"The [CLT] math section covers algebra, geometry, and logic, and requires students to work through problems by hand.

 

"The evidence, so far, is promising but limited. (The Iowa Board of Regents rejected the CLT because there were no peer-reviewed studies that showed the test could predict college success.) The only published study to date was conducted at Grove City College, a small Christian institution in Pennsylvania that has accepted the CLT since 2017. Analyzing 235 students, Grove City’s assistant dean for institutional assessment found a significant positive correlation between CLT scores and first-year GPA, retention, and graduation rates.

 

"But more data is coming. Three top-tier universities, including the University of Texas, are launching outcome studies this fall, tracking how well CLT scores predict freshman GPA compared to the SAT and ACT." ...

 

Full article at Free Press.

  

Other Articles of Interest

 

More Problems with Stanford’s Housing Draw for Undergraduates

Full article at Stanford Daily.

 

See also “In What Ways Is Stanford’s Undergraduate Residential Housing System Dysfunctional?” at our Ask AI webpage.

 

See also “Stanford’s Inadequate and Dysfunctional Housing” in our April 13, 2026 Newsletter and the comments on our Reader Comments webpage concerning shortcomings in Stanford’s residential education program compared with those of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and other peer universities.

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The Law Faculty Who Self-Censor the Least 

Full article at Expression by FIRE.

 

“Assistant professors were the most likely to report that they had refrained from expressing an opinion because of how students, colleagues, or administrators would respond. This reported self-censorship declined in step among associate professors, and then further among full and chaired professors.”

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New Rules Are Proposed for Federal Grant Selection Process

Full article at EDU Ledger: 

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“The 444-page document outlines a change in the qualifying processes agencies use to make funds available to awardees.… Under this proposal, peer reviews for grants would be eliminated, and awards would be judged and determined entirely by government administrators….”

 

Low Enrollment Rocks U Oregon as It Works to Slash $65 Million, Shutters Dorms

Full article at College Fix.

 

See also “The Looming College-Enrollment Death Spiral” in our April 20, 2026 Newsletter at our Past Newsletters webpage.

 

17 Percent Drop in New Foreign Students Exposes Universities’ Reliance on Their Tuition

Full article at College Fix:

 

"Universities are not doing more to make college more affordable for Americans 'because cutting costs requires a reconsideration of the entire structure of modern universities,' Shaan Patel said, adding that the conversation itself is 'highly unpopular' among administrators. Expanding administrative structures, new programs, amenities, and compliance staff have fueled exponential growth, Patel said."

 

See also "Warning Signs in the Numbers" at our Stanford Concerns webpage.

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Why We Care -- Samples of Current Teaching, Research and Other Activities

at Stanford

 

Click on each article for direct access; selections are from Stanford Report and other Stanford websites.

 

Hard Questions Spark Deep Discussion at Graduate Student Dinners

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Stanford Centers Focus on Making Science More Reliable

 

New Model Refines Search for Habitable Planets

 

Seven-Year-Old with a Rare Brain Tumor Is the First to Receive Proton Therapy at Stanford Medicine​​​

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