ACTA in the NewsInstitutional Neutrality
Kalven vs. Cowardice
In 1931, Winston Churchill mocked Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, as a “Boneless Wonder.” The last few months on campus have given us...
President & Chief Executive Officer
Request an Interview Follow on Twitter/XDr. Poliakoff became part of the ACTA team in March 2010 as the Vice President of Policy, and became ACTA's third president on July 1, 2016. He previously served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and research at the University of Colorado and in senior roles at the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Council on Teacher Quality, the American Academy for Liberal Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
He has taught at Georgetown University, George Washington University, Hillsdale College, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Wellesley College. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University and went on to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. in classical studies. He has been a junior fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies, and his research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung. He is the author of numerous books and journal articles in classical studies and education policy and has received the American Philological Association's Excellence in Teaching Award and the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Distinguished Service to Education Award.
In 1931, Winston Churchill mocked Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, as a “Boneless Wonder.” The last few months on campus have given us...
A great man, a passionate champion of excellence in higher education, a dedicated supporter of ACTA, and a cherished personal friend has died. The loss of the Honorable Richard S. Braywill be keenly felt at ACTA. We mourn his passing and express our deepest condolences to his family. Among his many accomplishments and contributions, Judge Bray served […]
In an unprecedented display of leadership, the president, flanked by the provost and the chairman of the board of trustees, announced to the chanting and drumming students encamp...
In February of 2024, ACTA sent a letter to all governing board members at over 1,500 four-year public and private institutions asking that their boards consider adopting a policy of institutional neutrality. The letter states, "Colleges and universities that remain above the political fray can most effectively help students learn how to think, not what to think.
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
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