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Steve Kolowich

Senior Writer (former)
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Steve Kolowich was a senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He writes about extraordinary people in ordinary times, and ordinary people in extraordinary times. Often these stories involve politics, technology, and colleges that find themselves in a spotlight unexpectedly.

He was previously a reporter for Inside Higher Ed. His freelance articles have appeared in The Washington City Paper, The Washington Post, and on Slate.

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Stories by this Author

  • James Comey, the former FBI director, was sworn in during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in June 2017. Mr. Comey will teach a course on ethical leadership this fall at the College of William & Mary.
    News

    James Comey Continues Second Act as a College Instructor

    By Steve Kolowich January 19, 2018
    The former FBI director will co-teach a course this fall on “ethical leadership” at his alma mater, the College of William & Mary.
  • Oprah Winfrey wowed the crowd with her speech at the recent Golden Globe Awards.
    News

    A ‘Historian of Charisma’ Explains Why Oprah Could Be President

    By Steve Kolowich January 9, 2018
    The emotional neediness of American voters has shaped the last 140 years of history, according to Jeremy Young, an assistant professor of history at Dixie State U. And that’s not going to change.
  • The "fake news" phenomenon gets a shout-out at the Kansas State Democratic Party’s annual convention in February.
    News

    Some Real Data on Fake News

    By Steve Kolowich January 4, 2018
    Who clicked on all those phony news articles during the 2016 presidential election, and what does it means for the future of politics? Researchers begin to rummage through the ruins of a dumpster fire.
  • News

    A Brief History of Students Secretly Recording Their Professors

    By Steve Kolowich and Chris Quintana December 21, 2017
    Recent efforts by a right-wing activist to recruit conservative students to spy on their liberal professors are just the newest iteration of what has become a notorious campus pastime.
  • Under pressure from national College Republicans, James Allsup (center) resigned as president of the chapter at Washington State U. He was re-elected to the post on Thursday, but will not serve because he is about to graduate.
    Students

    Spotted at a White-Power Rally, but Still Popular With Campus Republicans

    By Steve Kolowich December 1, 2017
    James Allsup, former head of the Washington State U. College Republicans, won re-election as president of the campus chapter. But he was found to be ineligible for the office because he will soon graduate.
  • The soul singer V. Bozeman was among the performers at Texas A&M’s "Aggies United" rally, an alternative to the white nationalist Richard Spencer’s campus appearance the same night. At least one student wasn’t buying it: “I feel like the Aggies United event and all the performers are just an attempt to distract from what’s going on,” Raygan Batiste said.
    Diversion

    Hey, Look Over Here!

    By Steve Kolowich November 15, 2017
    When right-wing fire-starters descend, campus officials face a conundrum: how to get students, and everyone else, not to feed the trolls.
  • Stacy Brown, then Evergreen State College’s police chief, advised its president in June that the campus had become unsafe and should be shut down for the remainder of the academic year.
    Leadership

    How a Clash Over ‘Safety’ Pitted a College President Against His Police Chief

    By Steve Kolowich November 3, 2017
    The conflict at Evergreen State College this past spring epitomized colleges’ struggles to make people of color feel safe. New documents and video clips reveal the tensions between two campus leaders over that goal.
  • George Bridges, president of Evergreen State College: "We expect students to be college ready. But we have to ask ourselves: Are we really ready?"
    Campus Chaos

    A Radical College’s Public Meltdown

    By Steve Kolowich October 27, 2017
    How a season of racial protests turned Evergreen State College’s self-examination into a national spectacle.
  • Facing an outcry, Harvard U. revoked the fellowship of Chelsea Manning, the convicted Wikileaker, to the Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics. Among those whose fellowships remain intact are Corey Lewandowski and Sean Spicer, President Trump’s former campaign manager and press secretary, respectively.
    Second Thoughts

    Harvard’s Political Fellowships Have Long Been Lightning Rods

    By Steve Kolowich September 15, 2017
    The university’s Institute of Politics is drawing fire for revoking a fellowship that had been offered to Chelsea Manning. It’s the latest in a string of politically fraught moves.
  • The newest Bevo, mascot of the U. of Texas, stands with John Baker, whose family has supplied and cared for the famous steers since 1988.
    News

    The Steering Committee

    By Steve Kolowich September 8, 2017
    In 2015 the most famous bovine in college sports died. How does a university go about replacing a live mascot?
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