"STUDY finds Democrats dominant in academia," stated the headline in Friday's Cavalier Daily. The study found ratios ranging from 3 Democrats to 1 Republican in economics all the way up to 30 to 1 in anthropology. While such a finding, akin to "diet and exercise may lead to weight loss" or "smoking causes cancer" isn't too surprising, what are the implications of a faculty dominated by one political party?
University professors, both liberals and conservatives, are no strangers to controversial comments and actions. In the days after Sept. 11, University of New Mexico Prof. Richard Berthhold declared, "Anyone who would blow up the Pentagon would get my vote." At Columbia University, Professor Nicholas De Genova uttered, "The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military." Both are extreme examples but demonstrate that those in academia often carry very pointed views.
The majority of professors do not announce their allegiance to one party or the other, but the fact remains that most do identify with a party and, according to the studies released last week, in overwhelming numbers that party is Democratic. Frankly, there's nothing wrong with the isolated fact that most professors are Democrats. The problem arises when professors allow their ideological beliefs to bleed through and influence their teaching methods, the material presented and their treatment of students.
Partisan bias in the classroom can occur in various forms. It can be subtle, such as assigning readings or screening a class movie with a particular ideological slant without offering a counterbalancing point of view. Bias can also be more visible -- for instance, an instructor who professes verbal support or opposition in the classroom to a politician or policy. At its extreme, bias might seep into a professor's evaluation of a student: grading down papers that disagree with a professor's own ideological beliefs or grading up those who agree.
The aforementioned examples are general, but what about our own university? A cursory search of campaign contributions on www.opensecrets.org for donors listing their occupation as "University of Virginia" would suggest that U.Va. follows suit among other universities in having a Democrat-dominated faculty. Private ideological leanings aren't as important, again, as whether or not professors allow their beliefs to influence what they say and what they do in the classroom.
On the whole, University professors do a great job of teaching classes in an unbiased manner generally free of any partisan slant. That is not to say, however, that the school doesn't have its fair share of professors who spend class time railing against the U.S. decision to invade Iraq or abuse class e-mail lists to send out biased news articles. But for every one of these professors I've had in three and a half years at the University, there are two or three whose ideological leanings were a mystery.
The question remains whether or not a faculty comprised overwhelmingly of educators from one side of the political spectrum is necessarily a detriment to a student's educational experience. While those who find no problem with the ideological disparity in academia point to other fields (the business world, perhaps) that are disproportionate, such a comparison cannot be made. Professors hold a unique position of authority when they lecture in the classroom and when they hand out grades and as such must be held to a higher standard when it comes to remaining ideologically neutral.
Students should never feel intimidated in the classroom for holding different ideological beliefs from their professors, but the onus for crafting a classroom with diverse viewpoints doesn't fall solely on educators. Students must be brave enough to think for themselves and develop their own set of beliefs. Don't be afraid to raise your hand in class and offer an opinion different from the one espoused by the man or woman at the front of the room. E-mail your professor or use the anonymous feedback feature on the U.Va. Toolkit if you think your classroom is the victim of partisan bias.
The third element of the debate, the University administration, ideally should strive for a balanced faculty. However, there simply aren't enough conservative candidates out there to achieve anything close to an ideologically balanced faculty. Furthermore, political ideology should not be a factor in hiring. What the University can do is to make an extra effort to seek out qualified applicants who will contribute to the goal of an intellectually diverse faculty.
Universities must be a cradle of academic freedom and intellectual diversity for students and faculty alike. No one group -- students, faculty or the administration -- should be held solely responsible for ensuring partisan bias is absent from the classroom. Each must work to promote an environment where all viewpoints are embraced and accepted.
Joe Schilling's column appears Tuesday in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at jschilling@cavalierdaily.com.
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