James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

Last updated

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal
Named afterGov. James G. Martin
Formation2003
Type 501(c)(3) organization
16-1686283
Purpose Higher education policy
Location
Methods Public policy
President
Jenna Ashley Robinson
Revenue (2015)
$629,859 [1]
Expenses (2015)$651,393 [1]
Website www.popecenter.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Formerly called
Pope Center for Higher Education Policy

The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, formerly known as the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and simply the Pope Center, is an American conservative 501(c)(3) nonprofit [2] higher education policy institute located in Raleigh, North Carolina. [3]

Contents

The Martin Center is one of several public policy centers underwritten by the John William Pope Foundation. [4]

The Martin Center changed its name in January 2017 and is named after former North Carolina Governor James G. Martin. [5] The Martin Center has attained the GuideStar Exchange Gold participation level, a symbol of transparency and accountability. [1]

History and organization

The Martin Center originated in 1996 [6] as a project of the John Locke Foundation (also founded by Art Pope), a nonprofit think tank concerned especially with free markets, limited constitutional government, and personal responsibility. [7] In 2003, the then-Pope Center was incorporated as a separate entity.

The president of the Martin Center is Jenna Ashley Robinson. [8] The previous president was Jane S. Shaw, who retired in February 2015. [8]

Activities

The Martin Center describes its role as a "watchdog" with respect to higher education in the United States in general and the public system in North Carolina in particular. [6] The Martin Center makes available on its website many of the research and policy papers authored by its staff, including reports on campus speech codes, faculty teaching loads, general education programs, and privately funded university academic centers. [9]

The Martin Center's commentaries and research papers have called for budget cuts to the UNC system and for increasing faculty teaching loads and eliminating teaching reductions for administrators. The center's director of research, George Leef, has argued for cuts in funding for the university system generally, [4] and to eliminate the public subsidies for the state's scholarly press (the University of North Carolina Press), terming it a "boondoggle". [10] In its broadest aim, the center has argued for "renewal of the university", advocating the creation of privately funded academic centers, which, in their view, would offer balance to academic courses. [11] Their strongest opposition campaign to date, conducted in conjunction with another Pope-funded think tank, the Civitas Institute, was directed against Gene Nichol, former president of the College of William and Mary and former dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law, in his role as the director of UNC Chapel-Hill's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. [12] The Pope Center accused Nichol of partisanship and financial opacity. [13] In 2015, the UNC Board of Governors concluded that the center was unable to demonstrate any appreciable impact on poverty and did not enhance the educational mission of the university and voted to close the Poverty Center. [14]

The work of the Martin Center and its staff has received praise and support from other conservative or libertarian organizations and publications with an interest in educational issues. [15] The center has also been criticized by faculty in the North Carolina university system and from journalists and commentators outside the sector. [16]

Board of directors

As of 2021, the organization's board of directors includes Arch T. Allen, Nan Miller, J. Edgar Broyhill, Virginia Foxx, John M. Hood, Burley Mitchell, James G. Martin, David Riggs, Jane S. Shaw, Robert L. Shibley, and Garland S. Tucker III. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</span> Public university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of North Carolina at Asheville</span> Public liberal arts university

The University of North Carolina at Asheville is a public liberal arts university in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. UNC Asheville is the designated liberal arts institution in the University of North Carolina system. It is a member and the headquarters of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Hunt</span> American politician

James Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician and retired attorney who was the 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina. He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James G. Martin</span> 70th governor of North Carolina

James Grubbs Martin is an American chemist and politician who served as the 70th governor of North Carolina from 1985 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served six terms as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district from 1973 to 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grove City College</span> Christian college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, US

Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and six pre-professional programs with undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, sciences, business, education, engineering, and music. The college has always been formally non-denominational, but in its first few decades its students and faculty were dominated by members of the Presbyterian Church, to the extent that it was sometimes described as having a de facto Presbyterian affiliation; in more recent decades, it and the Presbyterian Church have moved apart.

Stephen Wray Wood is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's sixty-first House district, including constituents in Guilford county. Wood served eight terms in the State House from 1984–2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Locke Foundation</span> American conservative think tank

The John Locke Foundation (JLF) is a free market think tank based in North Carolina. The organization was founded in 1990 to work "for truth, for freedom, and for the future of North Carolina." It is named after the philosopher John Locke, who was a primary contributor to classical liberalism. JLF was co-founded by Art Pope, a North Carolina businessman active in politics. Pope's family foundation provides most of the support for the center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of North Carolina School of Law</span> Public law school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in the state of North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Fetzer</span> American politician and mayor

Thomas Harrison Fetzer Jr. is an American politician and lobbyist who served three two-year terms as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1993 to 1999. He was chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2009 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media</span>

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media is the undergraduate and graduate journalism school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school, founded in 1950, is ranked competitively among the best journalism schools in the United States. The school offers undergraduate degrees in media & journalism as well as advertising & public relations. It offers master's degrees in journalism, strategic communication, and visual communication and doctoral degrees in media & communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions</span>

The James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, often called simply the James Madison Program or the Madison Program, is a scholarly institute within the Department of Politics at Princeton University espousing a dedication "to exploring enduring questions of American constitutional law and Western political thought." The Madison Program was founded in 2000 and is directed by Robert P. George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University.

Richard Lyndell Stroup (1943-2021) was a free-market environmentalist and emeritus professor of economics at both North Carolina State University and Montana State University. He was co-founder of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and a senior fellow. He was also a research fellow at the Independent Institute, adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute, and a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. At Montana State University, he served as head of the Department of Agricultural Economics & Economics from 2003 to 2006. Stroup was director of the Office of Policy Analysis in the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1982 to 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Policy Network</span> US civil policy advocacy organization

The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advises its member think tanks on fundraising, running a nonprofit, and communicating ideas. Founded in 1992, it is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with member groups located in all fifty states.

Jane S. Shaw (also Jane Shaw Stroup) is an American free-market environmentalist, editor, and journalist. She is the former president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal and currently is chairman of its board of directors. She is a free-lance editor and manages two blogs, Janetakesonhistory.org. and libertyandecology.org.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Pope</span> American politician from North Carolina

James Arthur Pope is an American businessman, attorney and former government official. Pope is the owner, chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, a group of 370 retail stores in 16 states. He is also the president and chairman of the John William Pope Foundation. He previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and recently served as the Budget Director for North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John William Pope Foundation</span> American private charitable foundation

The John William Pope Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) private charitable foundation based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that contributes to conservative public policy organizations and think tanks, educational institutions, humanitarian charities, and the arts. Art Pope, a businessman and philanthropist, is the current president and chairman of the board of directors.

David Riggs is the vice president of philanthropic strategy at Philanthropy Roundtable. He is the former vice president of the John William Pope Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Boxill</span> American academic

Jeanette Marie Boxill is an American academic who was Senior Lecturer in Philosophy (ethics) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was also Chair of the Faculty and Director of Parr Center for Ethics. Her writing and teaching relate broadly with ethical issues in social conduct, social and political philosophy, feminist theory, and ethics in sports. She is editor of Sports Ethics: An Anthology and Issues in Race and Gender. She is past president of the International Association for Philosophy in Sport, serves on the board of the NCAA Scholarly Colloquium Committee, and chairs both the 2011 NCAA Scholarly Colloquium and the Education Outreach Program for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). For 25 years, Boxill was the public address announcer for UNC women's basketball and field hockey. She is a member of numerous professional associations and has won a number of awards for teaching and professional contributions. She resigned from UNC in 2015 in the wake of the UNC Chapel Hill academics-athletics scandal.

John A. Parnell is a professor of Management and Eminent Scholar in Business at the University of North Alabama. He held the William Henry Belk Chair of Management at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke from 2002 to 2019, where he also served as Interim Dean at the UNCP School of Business during the 2014–2015 academic year.

Christopher "Chris" Clemens, Jaroslav Folda Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is an American astrophysicist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who works on astronomical instrumentation, white dwarf stars, and exoplanetary debris. On 10 December 2021, Clemens was appointed Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of UNC-Chapel Hill by Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and confirmed by the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "IRS Form 990 2015". GuideStar. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  2. "The James G Martin Center For Academic Renewal | Designated as a 501(c)(3)". projects.propublica.org. ProPublica . Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  3. Stancill, Jane (November 22, 2017). "Conservative think tank takes credit for UNC actions". News & Observer. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Mayer, Jane (October 10, 2011). "State for Sale". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  5. "A New Era: The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal". The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. January 3, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Shaw, Jane. "The Pope Center defends itself". IndyWeek. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  7. "Is the John Locke Foundation Conservative?". John Locke Foundation. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Pope Center elects Jenna Robinson as president". John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  9. "Research | The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy". Popecenter.org. November 19, 1999. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  10. "Stop the Presses! Or, At Least, Stop Their Subsidies!". November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  11. Carpenter, Zoe. "How A Right-Wing Political Machine Is Dismantling Higher Education in North Carolina". The Nation. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  12. Cooper, Michael A. Jr. (February 15, 2015). "The War on the War on Poverty". The New Republic.
  13. Jaschick, Scott. "Who Is Being Political?". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  14. "Article 404 - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC". Wilmington Star News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  15. Leef, George (April 1, 2016). "Why Many College Grads Can't Write". National Review. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  16. Geary, Bob. "N.C. State considers Pope money". IndyWeek. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  17. "Board of Directors - The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal" . Retrieved June 29, 2021.

35°49′15″N78°37′34″W / 35.8208°N 78.6260°W / 35.8208; -78.6260