Minding the Campus

Minding the Campus is an opinion website focused on exposing and finding approaches to reduce the divide that exists between American college campuses and American society, especially as it relates to intellectual exchange. 1 Minding the Campus publishes essays and short pieces written by professors, academics, students, journalists, and concerned citizens in an effort to promote civil and honest engagement and diversity of thought at American universities. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Education Policy
Website: www.mindingthecampus.org
Formation:

2015

Board Chair:

James Piereson

President’s Salary:

$0 3

Location: New York, NY View on map
Tax ID: 47-3897378
Most Recent Filing: 2021
Budget (2021): Assets: $0 Revenue: $3,386 Expenses: $46,634

Contents

    Recent Articles

    In May 2022, Minding the Campus published an article by National Association of Scholars member Kenin Spivak claiming that the Biden administration’s efforts to add diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) provisions to federal government and Department of Education policies follows a racist and sexist agenda. Spivak states that DEI in the college admissions process based on race, gender identity, and sexual orientation often disfavors straight white males and Asian Americans. Spivak claims that practices like this will damage American institutions, values, and personal liberties. 4

    In April 2022, Minding the Campus published an article by Competitive Enterprise Institute senior attorney Hans Bader claiming that the student loan suspension implemented and then further extended by the Biden administration benefits high-income people at the expense of taxpayers, many of whom do not have student loans. Bader further claims that student loan suspensions will continue to increase inflation rates and encourages colleges to raise tuition. 5

    In March 2022, Minding the Campus published an article by Richard Cravatts, a Freedom Center Journalism Fellow in Academic Free Speech, stating that universities must prevent the use of the heckler’s veto on campus. Following a panel sponsored by the Yale Federalist Society that was disrupted by student demonstrators, Cravatts claims that the disruptors’ tactics suppressed opposing views and alternative beliefs, effectively signaling that they had the only valid perspective. Cravatts further claims that censoring speech that one disagrees with while only promoting speech that one agrees with violates academic free speech and that universities should not support this methodology. 6

    Funding

    Minding the Campus is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While Minding the Campus does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from Project Liberty ($129,100 in 2014), 7 Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation ($35,000 in 2018), 8 and the Bader Family Foundation ($28,000 in 2018). 9

    People

    Peter W. Wood is the executive editor of Minding the Campus and the president of the National Association of Scholars. 1

    David Acevedo is the managing editor of Minding the Campus and a communications and research associate at the National Association of Scholars. 1

    Chance Layton is an editor of Minding the Campus and the director of communications at the National Association of Scholars. 1

    John Leo was the founder of Minding the Campus and a former senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. 10

    Board of Directors

    James Piereson is the chair of the board of Minding the Campus, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and the president and trustee of the William E. Simon Foundation. Piereson sits on the boards of the Pinkerton Foundation, the Thomas W. Smith Foundation, the Center for Individual Rights, the Philanthropy Roundtable, the Foundation for Cultural Review, the American Spectator Foundation, the Hoover Institution, and Donors Trust. Piereson is the former executive director and a former trustee of the John M. Olin Foundation. 11

    Daphne Patai is the secretary of the board and sits on the board of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. 12

    Other members of the board include vice chair Mark Bauerlein and treasurer Debra McEneaney. 3

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2021 $3,386 $46,634 View
    2020 $43,248 $22,564 $73,596 View
    2019 $94,280 $70,887 $75,305 View
    2018 $98,698 $62,108 $73,806 View
    2017 $110,396 $77,115 $63,194 View

    Prior year filings: 2016

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $261,500
    • Number of Grants: 13
    • Number of Funders: 6

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $2,0002020 Frankel Family Charitable Trust C/o Steven FrankelGENERAL

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    Contact Us

    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “About Us.” Minding the Campus, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/about/.
    2. “Writing for Minding the Campus.” Minding the Campus, April 22, 2018. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/writing-for-minding-the-campus/.
    3. Minding the Campus Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2019, Part IV.
    4. Spivik, Kenin M. “The Tip of the Racist Spear.” Minding the Campus, May 20, 2022. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2022/05/20/the-tip-of-the-racist-spear/.
    5. Bader, Hans. “Student Loan Suspension Robs the Poor and Enriches the Privileged.” Minding the Campus, April 13, 2022. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2022/04/13/student-loan-suspension-robs-the-poor-and-enriches-the-privileged/.
    6. Cravatts, Richard L. “Modern Day Brownshirts Suppress Free Speech at Yale Law School.” Minding the Campus, March 24, 2022. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2022/03/24/modern-day-brownshirts-suppress-free-speech-at-yale-law-school/.
    7. Project Liberty Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2015, Schedule I, Part II.
    8. Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV, Line 3a.
    9. Bader Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV, Line 3a.
    10. Wood, Peter. “In Memoriam, John Leo, MTC Founder.” Minding the Campus, May 18, 2022. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2022/05/18/john-leo-rip/.
    11. “James Piereson.” Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/james-piereson.
    12. “Daphne Patai.” University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.umass.edu/llc/member/daphne-patai.