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Chris Marsicano

@chrismarsicano.com
2.3K followers 2.1K following 268 posts

Davidson College professor | Director, College Crisis Initiative (C2i)| Studies #highered #edpolitics & #edpolicy | PhD, Vanderbilt | MPP, Duke | Whatever we used to call tweets ≠ Endorsements

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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 07/01/2026
The (Wild)cat is out of the bag! The Institute for Public Good at Davidson College won a $4M FIPSE grant - the largest competitive federal grant in the College’s history - to create a nationwide network of civil discourse programs at 100 colleges and universities. www.davidson.edu/news/2026/01...
davidson.edu
Davidson College Institute for Public Good Wins Historic $4M Federal Grant to Foster Civil Debate
Davidson College’s Institute for Public Good has been awarded a historic $4 million federal grant—the largest in the college's history—to foster civil debate and respectful disagreement across 100 cam...
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 05/10/2025
One of the greatest moments in college football history. I think Sam Snideman has a screenshot. It was glorious.
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Russ The Tedious Ghost @russ41.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Time for another fundraiser. This weekend, I will donate $0.50 to @boltsmag.org AND @mississippifreepress.org for EACH of: - every new Bluesky follower I get - every new Bluesky follower THEY get - everyone who reposts this post Repost this, follow me, and follow both of them = I donate $4 total.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 30/06/2025
I was terrifyingly bad at this…
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
And it probably would’ve eventually been challenged in court on first amendment grounds.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
Grassley, not Ernst. ;) And I know *you* know how all this works, but there are many who are going to chalk this win up to Michael Roth.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
Yes - shifting the count to all students AND making them tuition-paying students gives schools wiggle room. Schools can shift from partial aid to full aid to game the tax. Bad for middle class, not for colleges. Some schools doing this already: lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/20...
lawprofessors.typepad.com
Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
Information about the Law Professor Blogs Network.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
Also fair to say that schools in red and purple states helped make this happen. Boston’s economy is just fine without BU, hard to make the case that Grinnell, IA, Davidson, NC, and McPherson, KS would be fine without their namesake colleges being financial healthy.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
Let’s just say that Berea is a good institutional citizen and had no problem lending a hand to the schools you’ve mentioned and others.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
And some schools that aren’t Ivy Plus but really want to be angered both legislators AND fellow schools.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
If you guys want all the lobbying stories… I have them. The Ivies weren’t the ones who made the biggest differences. It was the small colleges coalition, Berea, and Hillsdale.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/06/2025
Primarying Tillis may be a lot harder than the President realizes. www.theassemblync.com/politics/sen...
theassemblync.com
Why Thom Tillis Shouldn’t Worry About the Primary
The North Carolina senator is facing attacks from Donald Trump and his advisers, but a GOP primary candidate seems unlikely to beat Tillis in 2026.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 24/06/2025
Well... I think it is clear the President is losing patience with Israel and Iran. www.wsj.com/video/trump-...
wsj.com
Trump Says Iran, Israel ‘Don’t Know What the F— They’re Doing’
President Trump scolded Israel for striking Iran and angrily accused both sides of violating a cease-fire.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 21/06/2025
When you visit, let me know! We’re about to announce some big things that I think might be of interest to a budding political scientist / historian!
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 21/06/2025
There is still time for a course correction for your son to come to Davidson! No cuts here (so far). Life here is pretty great!
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 21/06/2025
This is the face of a man thinking “WTF is this nonsense?!”
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 20/06/2025
One of my favorite places when we lived there. Fantastic stuff.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 20/06/2025
I understand the choice of Juve for a White House visit: - Iconic team with storied history. - The only one playing in DC with American players. - The other teams playing in DC are mostly from the Middle East, which would've presented a messaging challenge. But still, what an odd conversation.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 20/06/2025
I don't think I've ever felt sorry for Juventus before, but I do now. Goodness. This was more than "a bit weird." thehill.com/homenews/adm... CC: @marcellograz.bsky.social
thehill.com
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 17/06/2025
And… ordered. When does book club begin?
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
The current proposal in the Big Beautiful Bill misses its elite, lefty targets and hits students instead. Lawmakers should not tax financial aid; instead, Congress should build incentives that put students first. #HigherEd #EndowmentTax #FinancialAid www.kansascity.com/opinion/read... 6/END
kansascity.com
Congress targeting the Ivy League hurts low-income college students more | Opinion
Increasing universities’ endowment tax would be much bigger blow to Kansas’ McPherson College than to Harvard or Columbia. | Opinion
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
We shouldn't tax endowments; but if we're going to, let's at least do it right. Want to make college more affordable? Incentive spending on scholarships. Tax endowments but offer dollar-for-dollar tax credits for institutional financial aid. Reward schools for making education affordable. 5/6
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
My research with CJ Ryan (Indiana), Rylie Martin (Duke), and Ann Bernhardt (Texas A&M) shows some schools have already cut aid or raised tuition due to an existing tax. A 10x increase will only make things worse. 📄 Full paper: journals.upress.ufl.edu/ftr/article/... 4/6
journals.upress.ufl.edu
Gaming the Endowment Tax | Florida Tax Review
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
Endowments aren’t vaults of unused cash. They generate earnings that fund financial aid. When you tax endowment income, you cut the money available to low- and middle-income students. It’s not a tax on institutions—it’s a tax on students. 3/6
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
Sure, elite universities with "woke" reputations like Harvard and Penn would pay more in taxes. But so would Berry College in Georgia and McPherson College in Kansas —small schools using endowments to fund scholarships and student jobs. This tax hits the little guy, not just the Ivy League. 2/6
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
Congress is proposing a HUGE increase in the tax on college endowments—up to 21%—to punish elite universities and fund tax cuts. But the people who’ll really pay the price? Students. Here’s my new OpEd with CJ Ryan on the Endowment Tax in the KC Star: www.kansascity.com/opinion/read... 1/6 🧵
kansascity.com
Congress targeting the Ivy League hurts low-income college students more | Opinion
Increasing universities’ endowment tax would be much bigger blow to Kansas’ McPherson College than to Harvard or Columbia. | Opinion
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 16/06/2025
Conservatism isn't selective taxation on goods already purchased. That's what the new EV levy would be. A great piece from @mattbaidc.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | This tax testifies to the utter corruption of conservative thought
Congress is coming for your EV — and what’s left of conservatism.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 11/06/2025
Fantastic piece showing how we got the extraordinary national debt we have today. TL;DR version: Bush cut taxes and funded two wars, Obama ended neither the tax cuts nor the wars; Trump gave out stimulus checks and tax cuts. Biden paid for infrastructure. www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
washingtonpost.com
See how the national debt grew to more than $36 trillion
Washington spent and cut taxes while the debt was rising.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 11/06/2025
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
kansascity.com
Congress targeting the Ivy League hurts low-income college students more | Opinion
Increasing universities’ endowment tax would be much bigger blow to Kansas’ McPherson College than to Harvard or Columbia. | Opinion
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 23/05/2025
Oh you’d be all about it. Tennessee was a powerhouse state back in the day. May still be. Could be a good activity for your kids when they hit school age!
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 23/05/2025
The real hero of those championship runs was our coach. She was the GOAT. A dozen state championships, three world championships. She kept churning out winners. To this day she is beloved.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 23/05/2025
Something that I don’t share often: I was an Odyssey of the Mind World Champion. My team beat out teams from Singapore🥈 and Poland🥉 to bring home the gold🥇. A couple of years later my younger sibling won... twice. In the early 2000s, the name “Marsicano” was to OM what “Manning” was to the NFL.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 22/05/2025
FYI: Not a fan of either team. Could not care less about Milan or Man U. Any straw clutching about those teams isn’t coming from me. I just recognize that Man U and Milan next year are in the same situation that Napoli was in this season (No Europe to distract from domestic league).
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 22/05/2025
I was elated when the Tottenham of Italy (my beloved AS Roma) won the conference league a couple of years ago. Enjoy! It is wonderful to win one!
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 22/05/2025
AC Milan and Man U are going to be dangerous next season. You heard it here first. No European competition to make them galavant across the continent. Pure focus on the task at hand - qualifying for the UCL. Dangerous. (Oh and congrats to Spurs, seriously.)
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 08/05/2025
THIS IS AMAZING NEWS! CONGRATS! WAHOO WAH!
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 08/05/2025
I've been able to watch what Napoli has done this season. Having a full week between matches every week, rested legs from not having to play four competitions, and a league specialist coach in Conte to manage the team have turned Napoli into a contender.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 08/05/2025
It is ridiculous that (if these results hold) the 15th and 16th best teams in the 20 team English Premier League will soon compete for the second-most prestigious trophy in Europe. Even more ridiculous is the fact that the loser of that final will probably be a contender to win the EPL in 2025-26.
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
DC Takes on D.C.: Davidson College Seniors Present Educational Studies Research @aefpweb.bsky.social Great mentorship from @chrismarsicano.com! www.davidson.edu/news/2025/05...
davidson.edu
DC Takes on D.C.: Davidson College Seniors Present Educational Studies Research at AEFP
Four Davidson College seniors reflect on presenting their undergraduate research at the annual Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) conference in Washington, D.C.., where they also netw...
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 08/05/2025
A fantastic OpEd from a West Point professor on why academic freedom at Army is necessary for our nation's national security. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | West Point Is Supposed to Educate, Not Indoctrinate
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 30/04/2025
Hey Y'all! CPPHE proposals are due TODAY! We want your work! www.ashe.ws/call-for-pro...
ashe.ws
Call For Proposals - Association for the Study of Higher Education
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ben @btskinner.io · 29/04/2025
Not exactly the same, but sort of like this? bsky.app/profile/btsk...
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/04/2025
I mean… ideally we’d just all get a bill and no one would have to self-prepare taxes…
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/04/2025
For instance, let’s say you paid $1,000 in taxes. You’d get a confirmation screen showing something like: • $240 for Medicare/Medicaid • $210 for Social Security • $130 for defense spending • $130 for debt service • $7 for Head Start • $3 for US AID I wonder whether that alone would change policy.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/04/2025
Every time you pay taxes on a program like turbo tax or tax slayer, the confirmation screen should come with the dollar-for-dollar breakdown of what your taxes fund.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/04/2025
Every retailer should do this.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 29/04/2025
Oh Parma and Udinese, you beautiful, beautiful teams.
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Richard M. Carpiano, PhD, MPH @rmcarpiano.medsky.social · 26/04/2025
Dear Social Scientists, Just a reminder: Amidst attacks on the social sciences & higher ed, now is a very good time to be posting here &/or elsewhere abt your latest research, topics in the news that hit on your expertise, or both. If you believe your field has public value, show it. sociology
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 26/04/2025
Davidson seems like a college town monoculture. Then you realize professors live next to NASCAR pit chiefs who live next to corporate executives who live next to frat guys. And yet the whole place still feels like Mayberry. Don’t get me wrong - I love it. But it is SO weird. In a good way.
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Chris Marsicano @chrismarsicano.com · 21/04/2025
Everyone on the left who slammed Harvard for being too elite and not focused enough on the common man for the past decade after today:
media.tenor.com
a woman is sitting at a table with a candle in front of a bookshelf in a bookstore .
ALT: a woman is sitting at a table with a candle in front of a bookshelf in a bookstore .
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