Defending Ideas8 Jul 2025

Are men turning away from college? | Mike Kofoed and Melinda Brock

College has long been seen as a gateway to opportunity and upward mobility. But today, fewer young men are pursuing higher education, accounting for just two out of every five degrees in the U.S. — a reversal of trends seen a generation ago.

On this episode, Host Nic Dunn is joined once again by Defending Ideas Feature Contributor and AEI Senior Fellow Beth Akers. Together, they explore this growing gender gap in higher education with Mike Kofoed, an economist and professor at the Haslam College of Business and the Boyd Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Melinda Brock of the American Institute for Boys and Men.

They discuss why male enrollment and completion rates are declining, and whether college is still seen as a worthwhile path for young men, tying these trends to broader cultural questions: Are young men retreating from institutions of civil society altogether, like work, education, and community? And how should society respond?

Show notes:

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

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