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Matt Hartman

@themhartman.bsky.social
1.2K followers 437 following 390 posts

Higher ed reporter at the assembly. bylines at the new republic, the ringer, jacobin. live crabs stay humble.

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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
after the wsj wrote off unc's investigation into its civics school as a smear campaign, one of its professors pushed back. but the wsj declined to publish his response. he thinks that's due to the same political pressure creating problems in the first place www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
Fired UNC Civics Associate Dean Breaks His Silence on Investigation
David Decosimo objected to a Wall Street Journal editorial. The paper didn’t publish his response—which he says is part of the problem.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I wrote about the long ties that led to Michael Jordan giving the school of social work $10 million. And also the shrimp platter www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
Michael Jordan Gives $10 Million to UNC’s School of Social Work in Honor of His Mom
The basketball superstar’s gift in honor of his mother is the largest in school history. It will support master’s students and international work.
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Reposted by Matt Hartman
The Open Notebook @theopennotebook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We are thrilled to announce the inaugural @retractionwatch.com Research Accountability Reporting Fellows, @kaylayup.bsky.social and @themhartman.bsky.social! www.theopennotebook.com/2026/09/28/a...
theopennotebook.com
Announcing the First Research Accountability Reporting Fellows—and a New Slate of Trainings! - The Open Notebook
Retraction Watch and The Open Notebook are thrilled to introduce the first two fellows in our Research Accountability Reporting Fellowship. This program, supported by The Center for Scientific Integri...
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
UNC finished its football investigation and once again released few details about the findings. I asked the investigators why www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Football Investigation is Over. Will We Ever Know What It Found?
University officials are providing few details. They say the secrecy is necessary to build trust with future whistleblowers.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
a lawyer told me immigrants can't lost those protections unless the administration provides 60 days official notice, so ncsu acted before it had to, making a stressful situation worse for its workers
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
on wednesday, nc state told 16 salvadorans they were "separated from employment." on thursday, ncsu reversed course. this is the outcome of the white house saying it would remove immigration protections for salvadorans, but not actually doing it. www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
NC State Told Salvadoran Staff Not to Work, Then Reversed Course Amid Immigration Confusion
Immigrants from El Salvador were set to lose work authorization, but the Trump administration didn't act. Activists say the confusion was unnecessary.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I wrote a whole ass term paper about the limitations of thinking about humans as primarily property owning things and clearly couldn't articulate the alternative and no one thought to tell me this Scottish dude had already written the book on it
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'm thinking back to all my amateurish grasping for this line of critique in my philosophy days and feeling retroactively annoyed no one assigned it to me
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'm finally reading alasdair macintyre's after virtue, like a decade too late. (1) it's a truly invigorating piece of scholarship, and (2) it feels like a skeleton key for thy Vance wing of Trumpism (precisely because it isn't inherently trumpy)
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I could have written a very different intro at least!
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
i tried to figure out whether unc's bet on belichick and athletics is paying off official answer is: lol idk man www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
Is UNC-Chapel Hill’s Bet on Athletics Paying Off?
After hiring Bill Belichick and Michael Malone, the price of Tar Heel sports is going up. But it’s not clear if revenues are following suit.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
if you thought the research funding fight was over, i'm sorry to say it's just changed forms www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
The New Federal Funding Problem
Universities like UNC-Chapel Hill major cuts to research funding, but the pipeline for new grants is shrinking. Researchers have been left in limbo.
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Reposted by Matt Hartman
BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL AKA PRESIDENT FOOTBALL @edsbs.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
watching people who follow Tottenham
dude getting kicked in the dick
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
a judge ruled against us and other newsrooms in our effort to obtain the school of civic life and leadership investigation. one of our lawyers called it the "most inexplicable and unexpected decision" in his 50-year career www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
UNC-Chapel Hill Civics School Investigation Can Stay Secret, Judge Says
The Assembly and other outlets sued to release the report under public records laws. The court ruled in the university’s favor.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
i wrote off grade inflation as old men yelling at clouds until i learned that, for most duke students, a 3.95 gpa only gets you to the top 25% of your class. so i tried to figure out what's actually going on www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
A Is for Average
The median college GPA has been rising at many schools across the state. It's not clear what's causing grade inflation—or if it matters.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I'm so sorry Eric
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
here's the story in which i learned nc businesses can more or less ignore all of their own hr policies as they see fit www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
A Greensboro Professor Sued His College for Ignoring Its Handbook
A professor says Bennett College didn’t follow its own human resource policies during a misconduct investigation. The college argued it doesn’t have to.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
unc has hired the same external lawyers to investigate its football program as they did to investigate its civics school. we're still suing to get the report from that civics investigation www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
UNC-Chapel Hill Retains Law Firm to Investigate Football Program
The university has hired the same team that produced a confidential report into its civics school earlier this year.
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Reposted by Matt Hartman
David A. Graham @dgraham.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Great story by @themhartman.bsky.social on a topic I've long been obsessed with: Why are so many of the movers and shakers in conservative politics right now Duke alumni? www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
Dukes in Trump’s Court
Duke University alumni have played high-profile roles in the Trump administration. A 2000s culture clash helps explain why.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Lol this is not a theory I explored, but as a tar heel I will accept it with no follow ups
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
now i'm just annoyed i didn't think of that
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
When life hands you a court pun that doubles as a did duke win joke, you take it
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
i set out to find out why. i found no shared mentor, group, secret society, or department they have in common. other schools appear to have substantially more alumni in trumpworld, but fewer notable ones. instead, i found a strange cultural mix around the early 2000s
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
in one decade, duke enrolled stephen miller, richard spencer, the doj lawyer trying to end birthright citizenship, the lawyer in charge of trump's immigration cases, a trump speechwriter fired for going to a white supremacist event, and more www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
Dukes in Trump’s Court
Duke University alumni have played high-profile roles in the Trump administration. A 2000s culture clash helps explain why.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
just incredible drip from a 1980s duke student
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
i've got a twofer today, so if you don't want to read about ebida and funding restrictions, you can just read all the embarrassing things i learned about lee roberts' childhood from the book his parents wrote in 2000 and a 1990 n&o profile www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
The Life of Young Lee Roberts
We learned a lot about the UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor by reading what his journalist parents wrote about him. Some of it may even be helpful.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
howard bunsis has accused dozens of universities of falsely claiming financial precarity to justify cutting budgets. administrators accuse him of just telling professors what they want to hear. @mzahneis.bsky.social and i dug into the disagreement www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
The Faculty’s Numbers Man
The accounting professor has conducted analyses of more than 100 colleges’ finances. He often concludes that campuses are on more stable ground than administrators claim.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
What level of recession indicator is this?
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
I was at a red light behind a bus, a car with a flat tire pulled up next to me and stopped on the double yellow, the driver got out and tried to steal the bus's license plate. The light turned green, so he gave up and drove away
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
the manhattan institute is coming for lee roberts for not cracking down harder on liberal policies and personnel at unc www.city-journal.org/article/univ...
city-journal.org
Higher-Education Reform Is Under Threat at UNC Chapel Hill
Questionable course requirements and troubling new hires show that DEI and social-justice activism are alive and well in Tar Heel country.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
whenever you see @jeffreybillman.bsky.social's name with "part 1," buckle up and start reading www.theassemblync.com/news/investi...
theassemblync.com
What’s in My Weed?
Our investigation found many hemp products for sale don’t have the THC levels they claim—but do contain bacteria and other contaminants.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Shout out @joeovies.bsky.social and giglio for not settling for the Yahoo aggregation when talking about my reporting youtu.be/DgmhFQovBsA?...
youtu.be
Sorsby Gambling Injunction | NC State & LSU Still Fighting Over Wade | Scheyer To NBA Rumors?
YouTube video by OVIES & GIGLIO
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
And also @grumplefish.bsky.social! Sorry lee!
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
this bit in particular is 😬
But that’s not how the process is supposed to work, according to decades of state Property Tax Commission rulings. A property is meant to be valued on the income it could generate—what’s typical for comparable properties on the market—not the actual income its owner reports. This keeps owners from winning tax breaks for vacancies they created or income lost to their own mismanagement. So while an owner’s numbers might prompt a second look during an appeal, they’re not supposed to override the county’s market data; that’s the reason the county buys the data in the first place.

In his presentation to council, though, Doyle described his office’s commercial appeal review process as closer to automatic deference: “Once you have shown us actuals,” he said of appellant property owners, “we have to replace” the market data with self-reported data.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
incredible work from @writingthings.bsky.social here indyweek.com/news/durham-...
indyweek.com
How $4 Billion Came Off Durham’s Tax Rolls Last Year, Mostly Benefiting Corporate Landlords—and Blowing a Hole in the City Budget
Landlords and national companies won billions in property tax appeals. City leadership, banking on the revenue, didn’t know until April.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Jordon Hudson would really like information about UNC's communications with reporters, including me www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
Jordon Hudson Celebrates Her ‘BANniversary’ With More UNC-CH Records Requests
Public records show that Jordon Hudson, who is dating Bill Belichick, wants information on the university’s communications with reporters.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This story is absolutely incredible indyweek.com/news/inside-...
indyweek.com
Inside Outlanders, Raleigh’s Self-Governed Homeless Community
Outlanders has a mayor, a charter, and a tight-knit community. As Raleigh pushes to end unsheltered homelessness, the camp could serve as a model for helping people get back on their feet—or be cleare...
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
- dozens of stories about a little girl named puck and her mouse friend poppy
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
- an elaborate natural history of gnomes, including that they have eight teeth (four top and bottom), the only dairy they eat is ice cream, and they wake up at 3 am to check their house, do 5 stretches and have cool water and, then to back to bed around 4
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
A brief list of stories my wife made up for our daughter that my daughter then expected me to know: - Willie, the sentient cajun washcloth cursed by a voodoo practitioner - toeseph, the toe ring obsessed man who lost the ring my daughter found on the ground (which is actually a key ring)
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
vic strandberg just retired after 60 (!!) years on duke's faculty. i asked him about what changed over his career and i had a great time www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
A 60-Year Duke Professor on Literature, Grade Inflation, and Whether Academia Will Survive
Victor Strandberg is retiring at age 91. The English professor reflects on what’s changed—including Blue Devils basketball—and what comes next for him.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
None of those departments, as far as I know, offer students $3000 a year to take a course or two in their department per semester, like SCiLL does
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
SCiLL has about 29 course enrollments per faculty member (42 per tenure track faculty member). Some other departments: African American studies: 31 (73) Women's studies: 34 (110) Philosophy: 106 (134) Classics: 124 (124) Asian & Middle Eastern studies: 120 (210)
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I had lots of these questions, but the dth beat me to answering them and did an incredible job www.dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
dailytarheel.com
School of Civic Life and Leadership's student enrollment is growing, but at what cost?
The newly-independent school's student enrollment has grown significantly since 2024. But given the school's extensive scholarship offerings to students who live in SCiLL's residential learning commun...
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
a small group of conservatives have taken over the neh, and two of them were classmates at duke. i've got a new story out in partnership with @chronicle.com about how it happened and what it means www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...
theassemblync.com
How Two Duke Alumni Helped Conservatives Take Over the NEH
The Trump administration fired most of the National Endowment for the Humanities' advisory board. Two Duke-trained political theorists are now key leaders.
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
does it help to know we really really appreciate it? because we really really appreciate it!
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
unc is paying a lawyer $900 an hour to read my stories
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
public records are fun
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Have all y'all really just been walking this earth knowing geese are packing like this?
Horror goose
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Matt Hartman @themhartman.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
this is such a wild story www.theassemblync.com/news/busines...
theassemblync.com
Feds Fine Durham-Based Energy Efficiency Company $722 Million
American Efficient says it was incentivizing energy savings at major companies. One FERC commissioner says “their entire business is a scam.”
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