Rebuilding Trust in Higher Ed with Chancellor Andrew Martin | Ep 39

Can colleges be engines of rigorous civil debate, or are self-censorship and fear stifling the next generation of thinkers? Today, we welcome Chancellor Andrew Martin of Washington University in St. Louis, a leading scholar and administrator recognized for reshaping institutional culture at the highest levels of academia.

Chancellor Martin discusses his strategic initiatives to foster a climate of rigorous, principled debate and constructive disagreement at WashU, ranging from the creation of the "Dialogue Across Difference" program to groundbreaking admissions policies that increase socioeconomic and ideological diversity. He unpacks the recently released Vanderbilt–WashU Statement of Principles, a collaborative effort with Vanderbilt University, aimed at recommitting academic institutions to the foundational pillars of excellence, academic freedom, and free expression. 

Explore how WashU’s Order of Liberty and cluster faculty hiring initiatives promote diverse perspectives, incorporating both liberal and civic virtue frameworks. Understand how institutional neutrality, along with dialogue and engagement, fosters a dynamic academic community.

In This Episode:

💥 The Vanderbilt–WashU Statement of Principles and institutional neutrality.

💥 WashU’s Dialogue Across Difference program.

💥 Admissions reforms and Pell Grant expansion for socioeconomic diversity.

💥 The Order of Liberty Project and faculty hiring for ideological diversity.

💥 Challenges and responsibilities of academic freedom and self-censorship.

About Andrew:

Andrew D. Martin is the 15th chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, inaugurated on October 3, 2019. He previously served as dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan from 2014 to 2018 and is a political scientist known for the Martin-Quinn scores used to study U.S. Supreme Court ideology. At WashU, he launched access initiatives, including the WashU Pledge and Gateway to Success, and moved the university to a no-loan undergraduate aid policy. In fall 2024, he co-signed a Statement of Principles with Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, adopted by both universities’ boards, affirming free expression, academic freedom, and institutional neutrality. In September 2025, he launched the Ordered Liberty Project to advance academic freedom, viewpoint diversity, and civic education.

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