[4][5] Originally called the Campus Coalition for Democracy, the National Association of Scholars was founded in 1987 by Herbert London and Stephen Balch[6][7] with the goal of preserving the "Western intellectual heritage".

[10][11][12] Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Congressional caucuses Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Social media Miscellaneous Other The NAS engaged the American Association of University Professors over its diversity standard, and complained to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, Lamar Alexander, who ruled that the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools must eliminate it.

"[15] Chapters of the NAS have been involved in a number of campus controversies related to affirmative action and multicultural studies programs.

In an interview with the Durham Morning Herald, Barber called Fish "an embarrassment to this university for his gross insult to this organization".

[5] University of Colorado, Boulder dean William Stanley resigned in protest of what he called "teacher-bashing" by the NAS,[3] while regent Bob Sievers deplored "anti-teaching, anti-C.U./Boulder, anti-women and anti-minority bias".

[5] In September 2008, The New York Times described the NAS as among the politically conservative organizations intensively and successfully lobbying for federal funding for programs which emphasize "traditional American history, free institutions or Western civilization".

The Times reported that NAS and allied organizations sought to advance conservative causes by attaching conditions to university donations.

[24][22] NAS is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025,[25] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election.