Andy Thomason
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No longer really here. Editor at @chronicle. Author of Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics' Amateur Ideal. andyandy.bsky.social
Articles by Andy Thomason
See no evil
Glenn Fawcett, public domain, Wikimedia Commons At a wedding this weekend, a friend said that while he planned to see “You Can See Everything,” he wasn’t sure he would like it due to his aversion to “cringe comedy.” Does Nathan Fielder’s work fit that label? I only go as far back as “The Rehearsal” so I’m no expert, but I’d argue that his brand of observational artifice is more of a chin stroke to Tim Robinson’s watch-it-through-my-fingers cringe.
Here’s the Latest on the Sexual-Assault Controversy at Cornell
Cornell President Faces Critical Professors in Contentious Meeting of Faculty Senate October 14, 2026, 8:27 p.m.By Megan Zahneis In a sometimes-contentious meeting with the Faculty Senate on Wednesday afternoon, Cornell’s president pledged to take “a very careful, open look at Greek life on this campus,” and did not rule out the possibility of eliminating it.
Comics 10/13/2026
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Everyone is getting more secretive
Hiding information is more acceptable than ever, but it creates its own problems Tnbailey09/Wikimedia Commons Two weeks ago, UNC-Chapel Hill announced the conclusion of its investigation into the Bill Belichick-led football program. The casualties were Michael Lombardi, the program’s former general manager, and Belichick’s son Steve, who was the team’s defensive coordinator. The investigation itself was into allegations of drug use and inappropriate relationships.
The deconstruction of newspapers has left us in a weird place
Ka23 13 / Wikimedia Commons People get nostalgic about the age of newspapers, and for good reason. This was a curated, inexpensive product that told you almost all the important things that were happening in the world, the country, and your community, delivered right to your door. It arrived frequently enough so that you never felt out of the loop, but not so frequently that you overdosed on the stimulative power of information and went insane.
Look at this fiddle leaf fig
Two and a half years ago, I bought a fiddle leaf fig from Lowe’s and stuffed it in the back seat of the car. Here’s a photo I took to commemorate the occasion: Look at this bad boy now.
What's worse: plagiarism or AI writing?
All scandals derive their power from the demonstrated difference between perception and reality. The more severely a scandal undermines the culprit’s heretofore reputation, the more powerful it is. This is why academics are uniquely vulnerable to charges of plagiarism. You’re supposed to be smart, but you had to steal someone else’s words. You’re supposed to be principled, but you did something that middle schoolers know is wrong.
“Something has gone terribly wrong, and nobody knows exactly what.”
Something has gone terribly wrong, and nobody knows exactly what. Maybe it has to do with technology? Money? Politics? All three? We don’t know why things went off the rails, but we all know that they did. Our preeminent filmmakers are also preoccupied with this vague unraveling, and a couple of recent movies seem to point to a central culprit: an empathy shortage.
"If someday you find yourself in a place called Tilt Pinball..."
If someday you find yourself in a place called Tilt Pinball, you will see they have Sega Star Wars Arcade. If you choose to play as Luke Skywalker executing the trench run, as I did, and if you shoot down enough tie fighters, the game will tell you it’s time to fire your proton torpedos to destroy the Death Star. Only it won’t tell you the special button you need to push, so you might fail to fire, as I did. The game hasn’t anticipated this possibility.
Andy's Still Writing Something
When we last spoke I was fresh off finishing Discredited, the book whose creation I documented in this newsletter. Funny story: A year or two ago a podcast producer got in touch wanting to interview me about the UNC scandal, and I had to re-read Discredited to remember what happened. My review: Not bad! Since then I’ve kept up the writing, albeit in smaller form. I keep a kind of digital diary, which involves quite a bit of writing.
The Ungovernable University
Last month, Kevin Guskiewicz took a pay cut to leave Michigan State University’s presidency for the top job at Clemson University. He lobbed a grenade on the way out by criticizing the institution’s trustees, a group of eight elected officials who in recent years have been accused of dysfunction and backbiting. It’s the latest example of how partisan governing boards, willing to throw their weight around in new ways, are making presidents uncomfortable. Are those boards overstepping their bounds?
Has the Left Ruined the Humanities?
You’ve heard the critique. The humanities and social sciences have been corrupted by political aims, and their disciplines have tossed out rigorous research standards in favor of advancing social-justice causes favored by the political left. This has made for an impoverished scholarly landscape, filled with laughable claims and obscure jargon.
Leadership Live Updates: USC Law Dean Deletes Post Defending Trump Spokesperson’s Legal Credentials
USC Law Dean Deletes Post Defending Trump Spokesperson’s Legal Credentials October 16, 2026, 11:59 a.m.By Garrett Shanley The dean of University of Southern California’s law school is facing criticism over a now-deleted social-media post defending newly minted White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, whose legal credentials have come under scrutiny. When President Trump announced Zacharia, a Pepperdine University law graduate, for the role last week, he referred to her as an attorney.
Everybody Wants to Rule the University
In this episode In recent months, politicians from both sides of the aisle have been busy exerting influence on state universities. In Virginia, a newly elected Democratic governor has quickly put her stamp on higher ed, adding political allies to university governing boards and reportedly forcing out some members with whom she disagrees.
The Trump Administration Has Abandoned Its Fight to Cap Overhead Research Costs at 15%
Workers walk to the metro station in front of the National Institutes of Health headquarters.Wesley Lapointe for The Washington Post, Getty Images The legal battle over a proposed rule that would have cost research universities billions has ended with a whimper. The Trump administration had until Monday to appeal a court’s ruling that barred it from enacting a 15-percent cap on the National Institutes of Health’s reimbursement of researchers’ indirect costs.
Comics 02/10/26
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Trump Can’t Cap Overhead Rate on NIH Grants to Research Universities, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the National Institutes of Health cannot unilaterally cap the indirect-cost rate on its grants at 15 percent, continuing a freeze on the controversial policy change that would cost universities billions.
Trump Can’t Cap Overhead Rate on NIH Grants to Research Universities, Appeals Court Rules
The National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Md.Lydia Polimeni, AP A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the National Institutes of Health cannot unilaterally cap the indirect-cost rate on its grants at 15 percent, continuing a freeze on the controversial policy change that would cost universities billions.
Comics 10/28/2025
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Universities Are Making Deals With Trump. Here’s How They Stack Up.
President Trump aboard Air Force One on TuesdayAndrew Harnik, Getty Images Brown University on Wednesday announced it had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen research funding, in exchange for a series of concessions.
Key Considerations for Specifying an Industrial Dust Collector
When planning a new facility or expanding an existing one that processes, handles, and packages dry particulate matter, selecting the right dust collection system is a critical step requiring thoughtful research and careful evaluation. The right system helps to ensure effective dust control and compliance with safety and air quality regulations in industrial manufacturing and processing environments.
Andy Thomason
Andy Thomason is a senior applications specialist with Camfil Air Pollution Control, a manufacturer of dust and fume collection equipment for challenging industrial applications. For more information call 800-479-6801, email [email protected], or visit https://camfilapc.com.
What are the biggest controversies in higher ed?
In this week’s episode If you follow higher education like we do, you know that the sector is ripe for controversy. From misused money, to smoking-gun emails, to the occasional sex scandal, colleges and universities routinely make news for all the wrong reasons. But what makes for a delicious higher-ed controversy? And what can be learned from the embarrassing failures of otherwise respectable institutions?
Columbia’s President, Whose Response to Protests Ignited Encampments Nationwide, Resigns Suddenly
Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, whose embattled presidency of Columbia University came to encapsulate a period of historic tumult in American higher education, resigned suddenly on Wednesday. She had led the institution for just over a year. Shafik was one of several Ivy League presidents who were grilled last academic year by Congressional lawmakers about their handling of anti-Semitism on their campuses following Hamas’s attack on Israel and the ensuing war.
Can Charlotte Re-Sort Itself?
Taiwo Jaiyeoba can’t help himself. Sometimes he still tunes into Charlotte City Council meetings. Call it an old habit the city’s former planning director can’t break. And he’s bothered by what he sees. Take a May meeting where the council was, once again, fighting about the city’s zoning rules.
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions Nationwide
The United States Supreme Court on X effectively struck down hundreds of colleges’ admissions policies, ruling in a pair of closely watched cases that it is discriminatory and illegal for colleges to consider race when admitting prospective students. Writing for the court’s majority, Justice X wrote that policies that claim to consider an applicant’s race as one factor among many are in fact violating X of the U.S. Constitution. QUOTE. The cases, Students for Fair Admissions v.
Florida’s State Colleges Say They’ll Ban Promotion of Critical Race Theory
The presidents of Florida’s 28 state and community colleges said in a statement on Wednesday that they would identify and eliminate, by February 1, any academic requirement or program “that compels belief in critical race theory or related concepts such as intersectionality.” The unusual statement comes on the heels of a request by the office of the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, for public colleges and universities to submit comprehensive lists of their spending related to...
What the Election Results Mean for Higher Ed
Tuesday’s midterm elections appeared likely to bring about a divided government in Washington, signaling an uptick in scrutiny of student-debt relief, Title IX, and racial-justice efforts. As of 12 a.m. Wednesday, Republicans were favored to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives and could possibly win the U.S. Senate. Control of the Senate, which Democrats have held by the narrowest of margins since 2021, was still unclear as votes continued to be tallied Tuesday night.
Identify Combustible Dust Risks Lurking at Your Facility
By: Andy Thomason, Contributor Many manufacturing and processing operations generate dust particles that can ignite and cause a fire or explosion. Combustible dusts include food ingredients, seed and grain, metals, paper, pulp, plastics, textiles, biosolids, wood, rubber, dyes, pharmaceuticals and pesticides. Because each plant, factory and facility is different, identifying and understanding unique combustible dust risks is necessary to design and implement an effective safety strategy.
Some Reactions to My Book
☝️ shoutout to my mother-in-law Margaret Murphy for turning my book into an ornament! ☝️ It’s been a while, and I won’t keep you. Here are a few updates about the reception for my book, Discredited: Kevin Carey, of New America (and a popular writer on lots of education topics), penned a fantastic opinion piece in The Chronicle riffing off my book. There are a bunch of ideas that I wish I had been smart enough to include in Discredited.
Opinion | The Corruption at the Heart of College Sports
Early in the morning of April 6, 1993, I found myself standing among several thousand people in the middle of Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We were all very drunk, incredibly happy, and extremely cold.
U. of Florida Stops Professors From Participating in Voting-Rights Suit, Raising Cries of Censorship
The University of Florida denied requests by three professors to serve as expert witnesses in a lawsuit challenging a Florida law that limits the ways in which state residents can vote. The news, first reported by The New York Timeson Friday, prompted fierce criticism from observers nationwide who said the move was an extraordinary breach of academic freedom.
One Fast Way You Can Help
As I wrote in my last dispatch, the best feeling I’ve experienced as an author is seeing readers engage with the book. I’ve had conversations with people in recent days in which they’ve told me that Discredited has made them think deeply about universities, college sports, or just the notion of blame and justice amid the overlapping systems that rule our lives. Buy my book! I want this experience for as many people as possible.
What Do Chronicle Reporters Do?; The Universal Old Testament
From: Len Gutkin Subject: The Review: What Do Chronicle Reporters Do?; The Universal Old Testament When did the Hebrew Bible become “literature” rather than Scripture? That’s the question asked in Yael Almog’s book Secularism and Hermeneutics (Penn, 2019), one of the most stimulating scholarly monographs I’ve read recently.
The Confounding Case of Jan Boxill
The Chapel Hill professor was implicated in an infamous scandal. To focus on her culpability is to miss a disturbing truth about higher education in America.
The Confounding Case of Jan Boxill
One day in late October 2014, Jan Boxill walked into a meeting with her provost. She carried a letter that she hoped would clear things up. Boxill was among the most recognizable of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s faculty members. The philosophy instructor had her hands in nearly every aspect of campus life. She directed a center for ethics. She had for years been the academic adviser to the women’s basketball team, and done public-address announcing for more than one sport.
The Gain and the Loss
A book is like any item you might have sitting around the house. I’m looking at a chair right now: Someone spends time making the chair. Someone then puts the chair up for sale. You buy the chair, use it, and eventually sell it, give it away, or throw it out. A book is like a chair in all these ways. Just another household item collecting dust. But there’s something the book has that the chair doesn’t have. It’s an effect.
Student Journalists, Register for Our 2021 Virtual Reporting Workshop
The Chronicle will host its sixth annual Reporting Workshop — a virtual opportunity this year, for students nationwide to learn from our newsroom’s award-winning journalists — on Friday, October 8, 2021. Participants, who can register and attend free of charge, will have the opportunity to take part in several sessions on reporting strategies, finding and using troves of public data, and the writing craft. This is a challenging time for student journalists to cover higher education.
Surprise: My Book Is Out!
The big day finally came — a week ahead of schedule. Yes, on Friday my book, Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics’ Amateur Ideal, was officially published by the University of Michigan Press. Buy my book! The publication date had long been set at August 27. So why the change of plans? In short, there were some logistical hurdles to getting copies of the book to Raleigh in time for my August 30 event, so the press and I decided to go ahead and release ‘em from the warehouse. Why wait?
How Much Money Will I Make?
For most of the time I spent working on my book, I thought I knew what it was ultimately about: amateurism, the arrangement through which colleges are able to utilize unpaid labor to fuel their entertainment arms. I learned late in the game that while my hunch was right, I hadn’t fully proven it — to myself or in the book. More specifically, I hadn’t traced the evolution of amateurism from conception all the way to the quads of Chapel Hill.
1 More Excerpt, 3 More Events
I wrote last month about how I’ve now shifted gears into promotion mode. All the questions and anxieties about reporting and writing have mostly left my brain. Now it’s just about getting the book in your hands. Preorder my book! This means looking for every little opportunity to advertise the relevance of my book, mostly through pitching op-eds/excerpts and planning events. My beefiest excerpt so far went live late last month.
Peer Review or Mafia? Jesus’ Wife; Pornography; Retraction!
From: Len Gutkin Subject: The Review: Peer Review or Mafia? Jesus' Wife; Pornography; Retraction! Back in 2016, the journalist Ariel Sabar published an essay in The Atlantic, “The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus’s Wife,” debunking a 2014 Harvard Theological Review article by the Harvard Divinity School professor Karen L.
After Controversial Delay, UNC Awards Tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Wednesday awarded tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, a dramatic turnabout in the saga that has come to symbolize public colleges’ vulnerability to political forces in a polarized country. The university’s Board of Trustees formally voted, 9 to 4, in favor of bestowing the status on Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist and lead author of the controversial “1619 Project,” in a special meeting.
After Controversial Delay, UNC Awards Tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones
Find out first about major developments. Delivered whenever the most significant news warrants. June 30, 2021 From: The Chronicle of Higher Education Subject: Breaking News Extra: After Controversial Delay, UNC Awards Tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones
Holden Thorp's Cautionary Tale
Editor’s Note: The following is an adapted excerpt from Thomason’s upcoming book Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics’ Amateur Ideal. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go for Holden Thorp. He was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s favorite son, the boy genius who’d fallen in love with the chemistry lab and followed that love all the way to the Ivy League, only to look homeward, still.
Pushing the Boat Out
When I last wrote to you, we had a release date — August 27. Now we have a book. The arrival of 👆🏻 review copies 👆🏻 — advance editions of the book that go to media outlets and other Friends of Andy — signals one thing: There’s no stopping this now. There have been a lot of different stages since I first submitted my manuscript a year and a half ago.
Russia Gives Bard the Boot
From: Len Gutkin Subject: The Review: Russia Gives Bard the Boot “The censor,” Judith Butler wrote in The Chronicle Review in 2018, “expresses himself as a fearful being. He fears speech and seeks to contain it.” The occasion for her remarks was Turkey’s crackdown on higher education — thousands of professors fired, tens of thousands of students jailed, and at least 15 universities shuttered, all on the pretext that they were somehow supporting Kurdish terrorists.
The UNC Scandal No One Talks About
In the summer of 2012, the biggest scandal in half a century was splintering the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A series of phantom courses — supposedly lecture classes, but they never met in person — had been used for years by athletes trying to stay eligible to play. At a university that had long bragged about winning “the right way,” the revelation was evidence of an irresistible hypocrisy. Journalists and faculty members agitated for answers.
How to Control Food Dust in Your Processing Facility
When food products are manufactured indoors, small particles often become airborne and have the potential to do serious harm to people, products, equipment, and facilities. Dusts that are combustible can cause fires and explosions. Other dusts can contain ingredients that are harmful when swallowed, inhaled, or come into contact with skin. Dust also can cross-contaminate other products that are manufactured in the same facility.
New CDC Guidance: Colleges Where ‘Everyone Is Vaccinated’ Can Return to Full, In-Person Learning
Live Coronavirus Updates Tracking the impact of the pandemic on higher education The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released new guidance on how colleges can operate safely amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the severity of which is rapidly easing in the United States.
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