[Ret10Echo]

I watched Dr. Vatz on a local news/debate program this weekend. I definitely enjoy his position on most topics as it flies in the face of the "Institutional Leftist Academia".

Extract from his Op-Ed piece below...the full article from the Baltimore Sun is here.

Professor Richard Vatz says colleges cherish demographic diversity but trample of the rights of conservativesJune 23, 2011|By Richard E. Vatz

There is no greater rallying cry at American universities than that of supporting "diversity." On a near-daily basis, we hear of some new program that ostensibly furthers this value.
What does "diversity" mean though?

"Diversity," as applied by the American Association of University Professors' (AAUP) website, means that "the Association is committed to use its procedures and to take measures ... against colleges and universities practicing illegal or unconstitutional discrimination ... including, but not limited to, age, sex, disability, race, religion, national origin, marital status, or sexual orientation."

But diversity is not applied to discrimination against that which is ideologically on the political right. None of the AAUP categories relating to diversity references "academic freedom," which the AAUP claims is central and "[indispensably is] conducted for the common good."

Nowhere in its section on "Defending Diversity" does the AAUP claim to support the profoundly disenfranchised conservative members of the academy and their academic freedom. Nor is there a stated concern regarding what many of us regard as the raison d'être of the academy: promotion of the "marketplace of ideas," the unfettered rhetorical competition that produces the best outcome in value and policy consideration.

But if there is systematic ideological discrimination in academia, that outcome violates the precepts of meaningful diversity and produces a propagandized higher education that systematically limits and homogenizes academic inquiry and intellectual growth — all while disingenuously proclaiming respect for differing points of view.

The hostile environment accorded conservative professors, students and their work affects countless facets of the academy: recruitment, hiring, promotion, tenure, curriculum decisions, and practically all of the day-to-day activities of university life, including student activities. This unfriendly climate means that liberal ideas dominate campus life, while conservative involvement and values languish.

Surveys confirming the left-wing domination of the academy are plentiful, but for just a taste, David French stated in FrontPageMagazine.com that:
A recent study by Stanley Rothman, S. Robert Lichter and Neil Nevitte found that 72 percent of professors teaching at American universities are liberal (by their own description) and 15 percent are conservative. At elite universities, the ratio was 87 percent to 13 percent.