Stanley Kurtz

Senior Fellow

Stanley Kurtz is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Beyond his work with Education and American Ideals, Mr. Kurtz is a key contributor to American public debates on a wide range of issues from K–12 and higher education reform, to the challenges of democratization abroad, to urban-suburban policies, to the shaping of the American left’s agenda. Mr. Kurtz has written on these and other issues for various journals, particularly National Review Online (where he is a contributing editor).

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Stanley Kurtz is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. On a wide range of issues, from K–12 and higher education reform, to the challenges of democratization abroad, to urban-suburban policies, to the shaping of the American left’s agenda, Mr. Kurtz is a key contributor to American public debates. Mr. Kurtz has written on these and other issues for various journals, particularly National Review Online (where he is a contributing editor).

Mr. Kurtz has published two influential books on President Obama’s political history and policy agenda: Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism (Threshold) and Spreading the Wealth: How Obama is Robbing the Suburbs to Pay for the Cities (Sentinel). He has also led the campaign to reform federal subsidies to academic programs of “area studies” under Title VI of the Higher Education Act, and has co-authored model campus free speech legislation adopted by several states.

Mr. Kurtz’s latest book, The Lost History of Western Civilization (National Association of Scholars), offers both a critique of deconstructionist history and a new way of looking at America’s cultural conflicts. (A free pdf of the book can be downloaded here.)

Mr. Kurtz received his undergraduate degree from Haverford College and his Ph.D. in social anthropology from Harvard University. He later taught at Harvard, winning several teaching awards for his work in a Great Books Program. He was also Dewey Prize Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Chicago.

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Q&A: Stanley Kurtz on Ron DeSantis and American higher education

June 16, 2022 | The College Fix

At National Review Online this week, Stanley Kurtz, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, praised a…

VIDEO: Stanley Kurtz on CRT

June 8, 2022 | The Federalist Society

On June 8, 2022, EPPC Senior Fellow Stanley Kurtz participated in an issue update on Critical Race Theory hosted by…

AUDIO: Stanley Kurtz on How Parents Can Save Western Civilization

February 3, 2022 | First Things podcast

On February 3, 2022, EPPC Senior Fellow Stanley Kurtz appeared on the First Things podcast with host Mark Bauerlein to…

AUDIO: Stanley Kurtz on “Woke Civics” in Illinois and Elsewhere

February 1, 2021 | Issues, Etc. podcast

EPPC Senior Fellow Stanley Kurtz appeared on the “Issues, Etc.” podcast to discuss the threat posed by “woke civics” initiatives in Illinois and around the country.

AUDIO: Stanley Kurtz Discusses Intellectual Diversity on Campus on First Things Podcast

October 25, 2019 | First Things podcast

EPPC Senior Fellow Stanley Kurtz appeared on the First Things podcast to discuss free speech on the college campus, academic freedom, and why a “Campus Intellectual Diversity Act” is a good idea.

AUDIO: Stanley Kurtz on Marxist A.P. History Books

May 1, 2018 | The Seth and Chris Show

EPPC’s Stanley Kurtz joined Seth Leibsohn on May Day to discuss the politically correct—and frankly Marxist—textbooks that Advanced Placement U.S. History students are reading in classrooms across America.

AUDIO: Stanley Kurtz Discusses Campus Speech Legislation on KKNT

February 27, 2018 | KKNT’s “The Seth and Chris Show”

EPPC Senior Fellow Stanley Kurtz appeared on KKNT’s “The Seth and Chris Show” to discuss his model legislation for states to protect free speech at public universities.

VIDEO: Scholar: Campus Mobs Reject Free Speech, Academic Freedom And Even Facts

November 21, 2015 | Daily Caller News Foundation

EPPC Senior Fellow Stanley Kurtz talks with Ginni Thomas about left-wing activism on college campuses.

Between the Covers Podcast with Stanley Kurtz

October 19, 2010 | Between the Covers

In an interview with John J. Miller about his new book Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism,…