I wondered, as I came across his name marked red in a sea of blue,
if he was aware of the monolithic politics of University faculty. Did
it irk him? Did it belie the diversity standards that his tenure had
ushered in?

The Diversity Plan that Frohnmayer signed off on in May 2006 was a
massive effort reviewed by more than 1,000 people, and will remain a
prominent feature of his legacy. Contrary to popular belief, it is not
just dedicated to increasing racial and ethnic diversity, but takes a
broad-based approach to helping "the individual learn to question
critically, think logically and communicate clearly." In addition, it
explicitly includes political affiliation as ...

read more»

I wondered, as I came across his name marked red in a sea of blue,
if he was aware of the monolithic politics of University faculty. Did
it irk him? Did it belie the diversity standards that his tenure had
ushered in?

The Diversity Plan that Frohnmayer signed off on in May 2006 was a
massive effort reviewed by more than 1,000 people, and will remain a
prominent feature of his legacy. Contrary to popular belief, it is not
just dedicated to increasing racial and ethnic diversity, but takes a
broad-based approach to helping "the individual learn to question
critically, think logically and communicate clearly." In addition, it
explicitly includes political affiliation as one of the elements of
diversity it intends to promote.

Three years later, it's hard to give the University's efforts on
political diversity anything besides a failing grade. Not only do
voting statistics reveal political uniformity, but the checkbooks of
the faculty members are just as indicative. Ninety-six percent of
political contributions made by faculty to presidential candidates in
2008 went to Democrats. In 2004, it was 100 percent.

As a student with liberal social viewpoints and a middle-of-the-road
economic philosophy, I didn't expect to feel out of place at the
University. I assumed the faculty would be primarily left-leaning, but
that there would be a small yet formidable cadre of intellectual
conservatives to provide the other side of the spectrum.

There wasn't.

That's not to say there isn't a range of political viewpoints on
campus. But those on the right of University faculty are basically
Social Democrats, with the left represented by an anti-capitalism that
flirts openly with Marx. When conservatism does enter the picture, it's
only as a punching bag for students and professors, a tired act that
became all too frequent during the presidential election.

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to
reflect," Mark Twain once said. I spent my first few months as a
graduate student here doing just that. I came back to school to prepare
myself for a career in which I would be expected to defend my
con...

read more»

That's not to say there isn't a range of political viewpoints on
campus. But those on the right of University faculty are basically
Social Democrats, with the left represented by an anti-capitalism that
flirts openly with Marx. When conservatism does enter the picture, it's
only as a punching bag for students and professors, a tired act that
became all too frequent during the presidential election.

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to
reflect," Mark Twain once said. I spent my first few months as a
graduate student here doing just that. I came back to school to prepare
myself for a career in which I would be expected to defend my
convictions. I matriculated seeking discourse and found conformity, and
as I realized there would be little intellectual challenge going left,
I drifted right.

In part, I believe this transformation aided my intellectual and
professional development. Liberal journalism is so normative that it's
difficult to stake a claim. But if your politics are independent enough
that you can occasionally gravitate across the aisle, there's an
expanse of fertile ground waiting. From this realization I have
profited, but, in general, the dearth of conservative viewpoints
damages the experiences of University students, regardless if they
acknowledge it.

The lifeblood of learning is exposure to a diverse and combative set of
viewpoints. This sort of framework allows students to sift through
ideologies and compose their own independent belief systems. The
concept of "diversity" and the "marketplace of ideas" shouldn't just
act as convenient adages for progressive grandstanding, but as a
philosophy that operates at the core of higher education.

There needs to be movement - along with intellectual consistency - on
the issue of political diversity by faculty and administrators. If
queried, most professors would likely agree that a university with only
2-percent Democrats would be inadequate. However, when the discrepancy
is in their favor, they appear uninspired to act.

As a student, I want a campus full of professors not only from
different ethnic and racial backgrounds, but different political
backgrounds as well. I want Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians,
Marxists, Independents and anyone with a halfway decent idea that
doesn't incorporate hate. That's what true diversity means to me. I
want that more th...

read more»

There needs to be movement - along with intellectual consistency - on
the issue of political diversity by faculty and administrators. If
queried, most professors would likely agree that a university with only
2-percent Democrats would be inadequate. However, when the discrepancy
is in their favor, they appear uninspired to act.

As a student, I want a campus full of professors not only from
different ethnic and racial backgrounds, but different political
backgrounds as well. I want Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians,
Marxists, Independents and anyone with a halfway decent idea that
doesn't incorporate hate. That's what true diversity means to me. I
want that more than free football tickets, a new basketball arena or
pretty much anything else a University could offer. In exchange for
paying $20,000 in tuition a year, I think I deserve it.

Don't you?