Kathimerini Greece Newsroom
By Aris Dimitrakopoulos
The ideological conflict in the US has shifted from a traditional left-versus-right divide to a new dichotomy: “woke” versus “anti-woke.” Originally, “woke” referred to being “alert to social injustices,” but critics argue that it has transformed into an ideology that threatens core values – particularly freedom of speech – by enforcing strict standards on acceptable discourse and “canceling” those who diverge from its norms. Some supporters of “woke” ideals, on the other hand, often label such criticism as “far-right” and argue that their aim is to foster respect and inclusivity.
A product of this ideological clash is the establishment of the University of Austin (UATX) in Texas, which some in the press have dubbed the “anti-woke university.” UATX was founded by The Free Press owner and former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss, Stanford and Harvard historian Niall Ferguson, venture capitalist and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and former St John’s College president Pano Kanelos – who also serves as UATX’s dean. According to The Wall Street Journal, UATX has received $200 million in funding from various billionaire donors. Its board of advisers includes prominent figures such as economist Larry Summers and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.
The university was launched in 2021 with a manifesto published by Kanelos in The Free Press, titled “We Can’t Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We’re Starting a New One.” Although Kanelos does not mention “woke” explicitly, he criticizes American universities for becoming increasingly illiberal and censorious, silencing students and faculty members who are perceived to hold the “wrong views” on contentious topics such as immigration, gender etc. He announced UATX with the mission of upholding “the intrepid pursuit of truth.”
Following approval from Texas authorities, UATX, whose motto is “Dare to Think,” welcomed its first 100 students in September 2024, marking the start of its inaugural semester. Currently, the university operates out of the Scarborough Building in downtown Austin, as it does not yet have its own campus.
If one were to examine the faculty roster, Father Maximos Constas, a Greek Orthodox priest and archimandrite, would undoubtedly stand out. A Greek American born in New York, Constas initially pursued art before shifting his focus to theological studies. He taught theology at Harvard University until 2004, when he left to spend seven years in monastic life at the Simonopetra Monastery on Mount Athos. Afterward, he returned to the US at the request of then-Archbishop Demetrios. Having known Pano Kanelos for many years, Constas became one of the first faculty members to join UATX as distinguished professor of the humanities.
Constas explained to Kathimerini that he considers it fair to label the university as “anti-woke” since it does not adhere to certain policies like DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). However, he quickly brushes off the branding of the university as being right-wing or ultra-conservative.
“I’ve been here for a year now, I can honestly say that I have never had a political conversation with any of my colleagues,” he said. “Our emphasis is on a return to traditional pedagogy, traditional education. We don’t want students or faculty to come into class and feel afraid to express their thoughts. We don’t care what those thoughts are, on the left, on the right, in the center.”
When the university launch was announced, they received some 6,000 unsolicited letters of interest from faculty across North America, which he attributed to the growing censorship in American academia. “[Professors] want to teach in an environment where they have a degree of freedom, not to be afraid or to be deplatformed or fired or whatever it is,” Constas said.
With over 20 years of teaching experience, Constas noted significant changes through the years in both US universities as institutions and in the students themselves. “When I first started teaching, you could make a reference, let’s say, to a play by Shakespeare, or to a dialogue by Plato, or to a passage in Dante. Most of the students would know what you were talking about. Those were names that were familiar. Now, they don’t know those kinds of names anymore,” he stressed, adding that universities over time changed “from a place of education and truth seeking to political activism.”
Constas, who is currently teaching a course called “Chaos and Civilization,” focused on classic works of Western literature, explained that all UATX students are required to do a project called Polaris, which they will present at the end of their four years of studies. “In addition to the academic work that they’re doing, they have a Polaris project, which is an entrepreneurial project. They’ve got to create something that will be useful for society,” he stated, adding that there are already some UATX students with their own startup companies.
Currently, UATX is in the process of applying for federal accreditation, a path that, according to the university, could take five to seven years. UATX appears to be off to a strong start, garnering significant interest from prospective faculty, students and donors. However, it remains to be seen if it will be able to transcend the initial reasons for its founding and achieve longevity by establishing itself as a respected institution with concrete academic achievements. Otherwise it risks becoming a “firework” of the contemporary culture wars, with the interest of students (and donors) waning when the political discourse inevitably shifts to a new dichotomy.
