Related Question on Metaculus:
The University of Austin, Texas is a university founded by Pano Kanelos, former President of St. John's College. In writing in Bari Weiss' substack, he criticized the social climate in American universities:
The reality is that many universities no longer have an incentive to create an environment where intellectual dissent is protected and fashionable opinions are scrutinized. At our most prestigious schools, the primary incentive is to function as finishing school for the national and global elite.
Kanelos was quoted in November 2021 in the Texas Tribune, saying the university has raised $10 million in private donations in two months, and that in the 3 days since the public announcement, he had received more than 1,000 requests from professors to participate in the university.
The university's first program, called Forbidden Courses, is scheduled to begin in Summer 2022. The course's description reads:
Our Forbidden Courses summer program invites top students from other universities to join us for a spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship in many universities. Students will become proficient and comfortable with productive disagreement. Instructors will range from top professors to accomplished business leaders, journalists, and artists.