Stephen H. Balch is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

scholar and higher education reformer. He was the founding president of the

National Association of Scholars The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American non-profit politically conservative advocacy organization, with a particular interest in education. It opposes a perceived political correctness on college campuses and supports a return ...

from 1987 to 2009.

Biography

Early life

Balch was born on January 31, 1944, into a Jewish family and grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1979 he married Maria Schelz, and they have two children: Leah and Daniel.

Education

Balch received a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, in 1964. He received his master's degree (1967) and Ph.D. (1972) in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, where his dissertation supervisor was Nelson W. Polsby.Peter Wood
A Tribute to Stephen H. Balch
NAS Article, Jan 12, 2009 It was during the Berkeley riots that he became a conservative. He now identifies as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Career

In his early career, Balch held numerous faculty positions. He was instructor of government at the University of San Francisco (1969–1970), acting instructor of political science at the University of California in Berkeley (1970–1971), instructor of political science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick (1971–1972), assistant professor of urban policy and programs at the Office of Urban Policy and Programs in the City University of New York's Graduate Center (1973–1974), assistant professor and later associate professor of government at

John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...

of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York for fourteen years, during which he joined

Midge Decter Midge Decter (née Rosenthal; July 25, 1927 – May 9, 2022) was an American journalist and author.Committee for the Free World and founded the Campus Coalition for Democracy in 1982. In 1987, Balch left his academic position and founded the National Association of Scholars (NAS), a membership organization of academic professionals opposed to political correctness in higher education. He served as president of the NAS for twenty-one years between 1987 and 2008, was founder and vice president of the

American Academy for Liberal Education The American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) is a United States-based educational accreditation organization with a focus on fostering liberal arts education, both in higher education and in earlier schooling. AALE does not currently have U. ...

(an accrediting agency devoted to enriching content and enhancing the rigor of liberal education), was founder and director of the

American Council of Trustees and Alumni The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is a conservative non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure t ...

(1994–2011), served on the board of trustees for Medaille College in Buffalo, New York (1997–2003), was director of the

Philadelphia Society The Philadelphia Society is a membership organization the purpose of which is "to sponsor the interchange of ideas through discussion and writing, in the interest of deepening the intellectual foundation of a free and ordered society, and of bro ...

(2002–2006), chairman of the National Association of Scholars from 2009 to 2012, and is currently a member of its steering committee and board (2012–present). (The NAS now has about 3,000 academic members and forty-seven state affiliates.) Since 2010, Balch has been a board member of the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization. In the fall of 2012, Balch founded the Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

in Lubbock, Texas. He is chairman of the Association for the Study of Free Institutions (2014–present), member of the board of the Alliance for Liberal Learning (2015–present), president of the West Texas/Eastern New Mexico

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

Association (2016–present), president of Lambda of Texas, Texas Tech University's Phi Beta Kappa Chapter, and member of the board of the American Academy for Liberal Education (2016–present). As the chief executive officer of the National Association of Scholars (NAS), Balch has received extensive coverage in the national and educational media. He has played a key role in the founding of numerous academic programs at American universities and colleges focused on the study of free institutions and Western civilization. He is also co-author of several major NAS studies of curriculum evolution and problems, including ''The Dissolution of General Education: 1914–1993'' and ''Losing the Big Picture: The Fragmentation of the English Major Since 1964.'' In addition, Balch serves as editor-in-chief of the NAS journal, ''Academic Questions''.

Recognition

Phi Beta Kappa 1964 American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, 1972–1973 Danforth Foundation Associate, 1980–1984 Balch received the

National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...

for distinguished service on behalf of the humanities, which was bestowed by President George W. Bush at the White House on November 15, 2007. This award cited him "for leadership and advocacy upholding the noblest traditions in higher education," and went on to say that "his work on behalf of reasoned scholarship in a free society has made him a leading champion of excellence and reform at our nation's universities." On February 27, 2009, Balch also received the Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award presented by the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

Foundation and the

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports conservative causes. The foundation provides between $35 million and $4 ...

. Balch served as chairman of the New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

from 1985 to 1990, and was a member of the committee from 1990 to 2005. He was also a member of the National Advisory Board of the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education from 2001 to 2004.

Bibliography

* "Do Strong Presidents Really Want Strong Legislative Parties?" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' VII, iv (Fall 1977) * "Amending the United States Constitution: The View from the States," ''State Government'', LIII, ii (Spring 1980) * "The Journey Along the Naturalistic-to-Bureaucratic Continuum: Another Route," ''Politics and the Life Sciences'', III, I (August 1984) * "The Neutered Civil Servant: Eunuchs, Celibates and the Calculus of Organizational Loyalty," ''The Journal of Social and Biological Structures'', VIII, iv (October 1985) * "The Tenured Left," ''Commentary'' (October 1986), with Herbert I. London * "Marxism and Magic: A Review Essay of Leszek Kolakowski's ''Main Currents of Marxism: Interpretation"'' (Spring 1987) * "Metaevolution and Biocultural History," ''The Journal of Social and Biological Structures'' (Fall 1989, pp. 303–318) * "The Dissolution of General Education: 1914–1993," NAS 1996 (co-authored) * "The Antidote to Academic Orthodoxy," ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'', April 23, 2004. * Remarks on the occasion of the award by the

of the Sidney Hook Memorial Award to Stanley Rothman, 22 May 2004. * "Build It and They Will Come: Reviving Academic Diversity through New Programs," ''Philanthropy'', May/June 2005. * "The Dubious Value of Value-Neutrality," ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'', June 16, 2006. * "The Route to Academic Pluralism" in ''The Politically Correct University: Problems, Scope, Reforms'' (The

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

, 2009) pp. 227–240. * "The Vanishing West," NAS 2012 (co-authored) * "On the Fragility of the Western Achievement," ''Society'', January 2014 * ''Economic and Political Change after Crisis: Prospects for Government, Liberty and the Rule of Law,'' co-edited with Benjamin Powell (Routledge, 2016) * "Cognoscendancy: Tyranny of the Talkers," ''Quadrant, May, 2016'' * "Phenocracy; Going off the Genetic Rails," ''Quadrant, June, 2016'' * "For a Concert of the Powers," ''The American Conservative'', October, 2016 * "How Islam Saved the West," ''Quadrant'', October, 2016 *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balch, Stephen Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Brooklyn College alumni John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty National Association of Scholars National Humanities Medal recipients Quadrant (magazine) people Texas Tech University faculty UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Educators from Brooklyn