Michael S Roth
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Michael S Roth
@msroth.bsky.social
1.1K followers 64 following 320 posts

President of Wesleyan University. (grand)father, husband, author, professor. Defender of academic freedom, liberal education and democracy.

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Michael Scott Roth is an American academic and university administrator. He became the 16th president of Wesleyan University in 2007. Formerly, he was the 8th president of the California College of the Arts (2000–2007), associate director of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, and Director of European Studies at Claremont Graduate University. He was also the H.B. Professor of Humanities at Scripps College, where he was the founding director of the Scripps College Humanities Institute. .. more

Psychology 30%
Philosophy 26%
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Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 1d
Georges gave me life changing advice & support. May his memory be a blessing www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/o...
Georges Borchardt, 97, Dies; Literary Agent Championed Wiesel’s ‘Night’
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 2d
“Those who instead choose violence destroy the possibility of learning and meaning. Those of us who choose learning must call out violence, especially when it is sanctioned by our own government.” @aacu.org @mollyjongfast.bsky.social @velshimsnow.bsky.social www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2...
Minneapolis is Now Ground Zero for Our Democracy
www.wesleyan.edu

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 3d
www.ms.now/opinion/will...

Reposted by Magda Teter, David Darmofal

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 3d
www.ms.now/opinion/will...
Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 3d
"although many uni presidents are accommodating the president by cloaking themselves in neutrality, other higher education leaders, including those at @georgemasonu.bsky.social, @princeton.edu, Bard, @harvard.edu & @mountholyoke.bsky.social, are resisting federal pressure" www.ms.now/opinion/will...
Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 3d
.@[email protected] “These were pictures of the state deploying violence confidently and with open disinterest for the niceties of process or protocol — the expression of power as an end to itself. To some, it was horrifying; to others, it was exhilarating” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/m...
Watching America Unravel in Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 5d
Authoritarians “want to make educational institutions into places where you don’t have free thinking, critical thinking, & curiosity, as you would in democracies. Instead, the education institution itself becomes a place that breeds the values of authoritarianism” www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Defund Science, Distort Culture, Mock Education
It’s not just about cuts to research. It’s about power.
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 8d
"Recent ICE attacks...make this a sober holiday, indeed…The march toward authoritarianism is only successful if we get out of its way. Dr. King didn’t get out of the way, and he has inspired millions to struggle for a more just and democratic world." #MLK www.wesleyan.edu/about/news/2...
Inspiration from Dr. King
www.wesleyan.edu

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 9d
Had so much fun talking with this wonderful @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social alum. We need more Maggie Nelson & more Wesleyan!
simsjames.bsky.social James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 12d
Last night, Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social and writer Maggie Nelson engaged in a captivating conversation with fellow alumni at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles as they explored the practicing of freedom through artistry, authorship, and challenging conventional categorization.

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 9d
My take @velshimsnow.bsky.social "That is authoritarianism: we have to name it, call it out…and then we have to stop it. The fact that the president wants something does not mean that something has to happen.…We’ve always known this in this country" youtu.be/tbc4sq0InNE?si… via @aacu.org @aaup.org
Detained for dissent: Judge slams Trump’s campus crackdown as ‘authoritarian’
YouTube video by MS NOW
youtu.be

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 9d
Read @polgreen.bsky.social “Operation Metro Surge” …is an occupation designed to punish and terrorize anyone who dares defy this incursion and, by extension, Donald Trump’s power to wield limitless force against any enemy he wishes.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/o...
Opinion | In Minneapolis, I Glimpsed a Civil War
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Michael S. Roth

simsjames.bsky.social
James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 9d
"You shouldn’t be able to pepper spray [protestors] or execute them on the street because you don’t like what they stand for…this is an aberration." Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social speaks with @velshi.com on the latest rebuke of Trump's attack on college protestors #HigherEd

Reposted by Michael S. Roth

velshi.com
Ali Velshi @velshi.com · 10d
A federal judge denounced the Trump admin’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian college activists as an “unconstitutional suppression of free speech." Wesleyan President @msroth.bsky.social says, "you shouldn't be able to punish protesters because you don't like the fact that they're protesting."
Detained for dissent: Judge slams Trump’s campus crackdown as ‘authoritarian’
A Reagan-appointed federal judge delivered a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists — calling it an “unconstitutional suppression of free speech.” In September after students and scholars were detained and nearly deported without being charged with crimes, Judge William G. Young warned the U.S. must not become a country that punishes dissent. This week, he went even further, describing the administration’s actions as “authoritarian,” and an unconstitutional attempt to “pick off” people for their speech. Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, weighs in, “this is an aberration, and we have to call it out and name it as such, because otherwise it gets normalized.”
www.ms.now

Reposted by Michael S. Roth

simsjames.bsky.social
James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 12d
Last night, Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social and writer Maggie Nelson engaged in a captivating conversation with fellow alumni at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles as they explored the practicing of freedom through artistry, authorship, and challenging conventional categorization.
Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 13d
“as the outrages pile up, as the silence persists..small acts of destruction &wretchedness begin to..threaten..the principles &freedoms upon which the whole system rests. Eventually, silence becomes not a choice but a requirement, &by then it is too late to speak.” www.chronicle.com/article/wher...
Opinion | Where’s the Outrage? Universities Need to Speak Up.
The lack of response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good is shameful.
www.chronicle.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 17d
“Trump’s penchant for theatrics &bombast, his obsession with status &his use of power to enrich himself and his family — all these are characteristic elements of this darker ideology. Machtpolitik is realism gone wrong...” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/m...
The Theory That Gives Trump a Blank Check for Aggression
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 17d
Read @johnathanchai There is no objective standard of conduct that could possibly explain why beating police officers is peaceful but attempting to flee from them is terrorism. This is not an oversight, but the essence of Trumpism www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump Has Odd Views on Domestic Terrorism
The president seems to think that beating police officers is “peaceful,” but attempting to flee from them is terrorism.
www.theatlantic.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 22d
Read @jamellebouie.net "There are many ways to diagnose the state of the nation, but if there is a sickness eating away at American democracy, it is our culture of elite impunity. Trump is at once a symptom of this disease and its apotheosis" @nytopinion.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...
Opinion | There Is a Sickness Eating Away at American Democracy
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 22d
Thanks so much for these kind words!
Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 22d
On this sad anniversary “Pride in idiocy has been the hallmark of this administration, from the stoked resentment against anyone with an education to the arrogant rejection of basic public health precautions” www.insidehighered.com/views/2021/0...
A college president responds to the rioters at the U.S. Capitol (opinion)
In the wake of the riots at the U.S. Capitol, we in higher education must recommit to encouraging the kind of democratic practice that's in sync with the goals of liberal education, writes Michael S. ...
www.insidehighered.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 26d
“many higher ed leaders display a striking obsequiousness in the face of power &money…falling over themselves to show they can follow the priorities of the president. While preaching civility on campus, these schools are practicing servility in the face of growing authoritarianism.” @aacu.org

Reposted by Michael S. Roth

postopinions.bsky.social
Washington Post Opinions @postopinions.bsky.social · 26d
"If social sycophancy is a bug in large language models, it is a feature to the Trump administration," @msroth.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/3Ygucuw
Opinion | The epidemic of toxic flattery is spreading
What do AI, Trump’s cabinet and the academy have in common? They aim to please.
wapo.st

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · 27d
“While preaching civility on campus, these schools are practicing servility in the face of growing authoritarianism." @aacu.org @aaup.org @thefireorg.bsky.social @acls1919.bsky.social @aclu.org @cato.org @aceducation.bsky.social @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com
postopinions.bsky.social Washington Post Opinions @postopinions.bsky.social · 28d
The latest from @msroth.bsky.social:
Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 29
We can reject sycophancy in #HigherEducation “we should look for examples of people who just say “no,” refusing to cave to social pressures or power moves intended to force us to live at odds with our values.” wapo.st/4jgWdf5 @aacu.org @aceducation.bsky.social @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social

Reposted by Michael S. Roth

postopinions.bsky.social
Washington Post Opinions @postopinions.bsky.social · 28d
The latest from @msroth.bsky.social:
 Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 29
We can reject sycophancy in #HigherEducation “we should look for examples of people who just say “no,” refusing to cave to social pressures or power moves intended to force us to live at odds with our values.” wapo.st/4jgWdf5 @aacu.org @aceducation.bsky.social @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social
Opinion | The epidemic of toxic flattery is spreading
What do AI, Trump’s cabinet and the academy have in common? They aim to please.
wapo.st

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 29
We can reject sycophancy in #HigherEducation “we should look for examples of people who just say “no,” refusing to cave to social pressures or power moves intended to force us to live at odds with our values.” wapo.st/4jgWdf5 @aacu.org @aceducation.bsky.social @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social
Opinion | The epidemic of toxic flattery is spreading
What do AI, Trump’s cabinet and the academy have in common? They aim to please.
wapo.st

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 10
“the six American winners of science Nobels this year, three were born outside the United States. In this century, the émigré fraction of U.S. Nobels in physics, chemistry and medicine now stands at 40 percent.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/s...
A Scientific Pipeline to the Nobel Prize Fueled by Immigrants
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 9
My take in @latimes.com "Obsequiousness and collaboration spread like viruses to weaken our republic, but the choice to support one another and defend our institutions strengthens it" www.latimes.com/opinion/stor... @aacu.org @aaup.org @thefireorg.bsky.social @mollyjongfast.bsky.social @velshi.com
Contributor: Americans still have a choice whether to let the nation turn authoritarian
Obsequiousness and collaboration spread like viruses to weaken our republic, but the choice to support one another and defend our institutions strengthens it.
www.latimes.com

Reposted by Christine Kooi

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 9
Read @michellegoldberg.bsky.social “Much has been made about the rebirth of gutter antisemitism and racism within the conservative movement. There’s been less public alarm about the resurgence of unapologetic misogyny.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...
Opinion | Republican Women Suddenly Realize They’re Surrounded by Misogynists
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 5
Read @philklay.bsky.social on the corruption of our souls “I suspect the question the administration cares about is not “is this legal,” “is this a war crime,” “is this murder” or even “is this good for America,” but rather, “isn’t this violence delightful?” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Opinion | What Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat Strikes
www.nytimes.com

Michael S Roth @msroth.bsky.social · Dec 2
Thanks very much
arghavansallesmd.medsky.social Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · Nov 25
@msroth.bsky.social is the only one of the university leaders in this conversation who sees this moment clearly and is willing to call it out. It does not bode well for us, as a society, that the other folks don’t seem to get it.
stanfordaaup.bsky.social Stanford AAUP @stanfordaaup.bsky.social · Nov 25
“I think this initiative has as much to do with scientific research as the early [antisemitism] initiative had to do with protecting Jews. This is an extortionist move to try to hold institutions that are heavily dependent on federal funding, as research institutions are, to have leverage over them.