Published on: December 9th, 2025

Dr. Spalding Participates in White House Roundtable on State of University Education

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon hosted university leaders and education proponents for a roundtable discussion called, “Biased Professors, Woke Administrators, and the End of Free Inquiry on U.S. Campuses,” held at the White House.

Van Andel Graduate School of Government Dean Matthew Spalding participated in the roundtable. Spalding spoke about Hillsdale College’s unchanging mission since its founding in 1844. The College was established by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the prevalence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety in the land” and who believed that “the diffusion of sound learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.”

The roundtable also covered how disastrous diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies have been for educational institutions at all levels and how free thought and speech have been attacked. Secretary McMahon assured the roundtable that under her leadership, the Department of Education will “reorient the academy back toward its traditional mission of truth-seeking, free inquiry, and rigorous academics.”

“University leaders must make a purposeful choice between the two paths laid out before them,” McMahon said. “One path lifts education up to excellence and into a golden age of responsible citizenship, cultural elegance, and technological advancement. The other continues down the misguided road of discrimination, political radicalization, and the stultification necessary to silence those who resist.”

Read more about the roundtable.

Read more about Hillsdale’s mission and history.

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter for updates on events and programming.

About Hillsdale in D.C.

Hillsdale in D.C. is an extension of the teaching mission of Hillsdale College to Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to teach the Constitution and the principles that give it meaning. Through the study of original source documents from American history—and of older books that formed the education of America’s founders—it seeks to inspire students, teachers, citizens, and policymakers to return the America’s principles to their central place in the political life of the nation.

About Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College is an independent liberal arts college located in southern Michigan. Founded in 1844, the College has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 5.7 million. For more information, visit hillsdale.edu.