The University of Austin, established last year as a free speech alternative to other universities, has raised more than $100 million, thanks to donors who are concerned about America’s future and global standing, Peter Boghossian, Fellow founder of the faculty, he told Fox News.
“For donors, this is not just a question of ‘Oh, let’s give people an alternative to a broken education system and help them live a better life,'” Boghossian said. “There are bigger economic issues at stake as well.”
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“This is a global competitiveness issue,” he added, warning that China’s dedication to meritocracy will ultimately give the authoritarian nation an edge over the US.
The University of Austin was founded in November 2021 on the principles of “freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse,” its website states. The fledgling institution does not yet offer degrees, but plans to hold its grand opening in 2024.
“The University of Austin came about as a result of the ideological capture of American universities,” Boghossian said. “And it was a particular ideology promulgated by people on the far left. It’s sometimes called ‘wake up ideology.'”
“The solution… to the ideological capture of our institutions by the left is not a right-wing institution,” he continued. “It is a university that seeks the truth.”
WATCH BELOW TO HEAR BOGHOSSIAN TALK ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF AUSTIN FOUNDATION:
AUSTIN COLLEGE DEDICATED TO FREE SPEECH TO TACK UP ON UNIVERSITIES ‘KIDNAPPED BY MANICS,’ SAYS FOUNDING PROFESSOR
The University of Austin has arranged limited programs in Dallas, including a Boghossian one called “banned classes,” as it waits to break ground on a newly acquired property in Austin.
“The prohibited classes program is carried out in person,” he said. “It’s a class where different points of view are presented, actually people who have different opinions, on topics that we would not, could not, or should not talk about.”
“If you have an honest question, you’re welcome to ask it, even if some people may be offended by that question,” Boghossian told Fox News.
One recent banned class, for example, hosted a debate on gender ideology between trans economist Deirdre McCloskey and Kathleen Stock, “who fights against trans ideology, not against trans people,” Boghossian said.
The faculty member said he contributed to the June 2022 Banned Classes program and found himself involved in prolonged discussions with students after class.
BARI WEISS AMONG THE FOUNDING BOARD OF ADVISORS OF THE NEW UNIVERSITY THAT REJECTS ‘ILLERALISM’
Some University of Austin donors are concerned about the academic competitiveness of the next generation, Boghossian says.
(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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“They wanted to have lively conversations about, you know, I’d say one thing, like, ‘I personally believe there are moral facts,'” Boghossian told Fox News. “And so we spend hours and hours on the bus, in classrooms, talking about whether or not there are moral facts and what that means.”
Boghossian resigned from his position as an assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University in September 2021. Shortly thereafter, he told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that the institution created conditions that effectively hampered his teaching.
To hear more from Boghossian about his freshman year at the University of Austin, Click here.
