Sometimes the people who know me get a good chuckle out of the fact that I've worked as an administrator in higher education over the past ten years. Of all the people to acquire a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and pursue a career in this field, why me? An arch-conservative working amongst the plethora of left-wing liberals who absolutely dominate university campuses throughout our country? Am I a glutton for punishment? Well, no...I'm just trying to bring some balance to the institution, that's all.
But make no mistake about it, I have often felt the need to conduct myself like I was working as part of a clandestine spying operation. I've had to watch what I say, keep my views to myself, and not allow myself to be lured into political conversations for fear of being outed. Why? Because like it or not, I've had to collaborate with liberal faculty in starting new academic programs that would benefit my department. I sometimes felt that they would not be willing to assist me if they knew where I stood and what I believed. Without their help, my new initiatives would have been dead in the water. It's sad, but I'm afraid it's true.
So that begs the question: why is higher education so populated with liberal faculty? Where are all the conservatives? To answer this question, I believe we have to start with a simple premise. The premise is this: the job of college professor is the DREAM JOB for any liberal. Why? There are at least three major reasons why I believe this is the case. The first reason is that it gives them a captive audience for espousing their radical views. Think about it. If some nut was standing on a street corner ranting about abortion rights, amnesty for illegals, or the ratification of gay marriage, then any person could choose to ignore the shouting. We could simply walk past the raving lunatic without acknowledging that person's existence.
Unfortunately, college students who are stuck in classes with these types of professors cannot do the same. They have enrolled in the course, they're paying to be there, and they need to earn a passing grade in order to receive credit toward graduation. Sure they can drop the course, but sometimes they don't have another alternative. Sometimes it's too late before they realize how radical their professor is, and dropping the course after the add/drop deadline would mean that they would not receive a refund of their tuition. Those who oppose the professor's philosophy are often frightened to speak out in class, believing that it may affect their final grade. They're essentially confined to lock-up with a left-wing ideologue, and there is no escape. Thus the professor has a captive audience: one that is often afraid to challenge the instructor's views, and one that can be quite impressionable given their young ages. What an opportunity to spread the doctrine of liberalism!
The second reason why the job of college professor is so attractive to liberals is that they receive protection from being persecuted for expressing their radical views. This protection is granted under the umbrella of "academic freedom."Academic freedom is the golden rule on college campuses, and it states that freedom of inquiry must be granted to students and faculty alike. Thus professors are allowed to communicate ideas, no matter how radical they may be, without fears of repercussion. Where else in American society can you do that? Would that fly in the corporate world?
College deans, provosts, and presidents are deathly afraid of violating this long-held doctrine. If they are perceived to be infringing upon a professor's academic freedom, then they might be deemed as applying censorship and thus assaulting the very mission of higher education. It's a major no-no, even if a student had come to them to complain about a professor's outlandish views. Very few university administrators have the stomach to enter such a battle, so most will simply try to smooth things over with the student and allow the professor to keep advocating their own personal, liberal agenda.
The third reason, and in my opinion the most important one, why this job attracts liberals is the possibility of tenure. The process of attaining tenure differs from institution to institution, but for the most part it works like this. A full-time instructor in his sixth year of teaching must submit a portfolio of accomplishments to a group of university faculty who comprise the Tenure and Promotion Committee. The faculty on the committee review the portfolio and make a recommendation on whether or not this candidate should be granted tenure. The criteria for evaluation are teaching, research, and service. In virtually all cases, the recommendation of the committee on whether to grant or deny tenure to the candidate is upheld. Once a professor attains tenure, it is almost impossible to remove him.
Now, if you guessed that the majority of faculty members on the Tenure and Promotion Committee are left-wingers, then chances are you guessed correctly. It only stands to reason that if liberals comprise the vast majority of university faculty, then they would also make up the majority on this committee. It would be naive to believe that they don't look out for their own, seeking to perpetuate liberal dominance in higher education. Over the years, I have read numerous articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education that detailed the plight of conservative professors who were denied tenure. While the committee may have cited them for shortcomings in their teaching, research, and service, these candidates firmly believed that their conservative views are what ultimately cost them their jobs.
So there you have it. The job of college professor gives the liberal loon a golden platform to express their radical views. They have a captive audience who they can shape and mold with little fear of opposition, they are protected from repercussions from the university administration under the guise of academic freedom, and the attainment of tenure allows them to do this for life, with virtually no chance of ever being removed from their teaching post. Wow! Where else in America can you get a deal like this? Is it any wonder now that this field is so over-populated by the left?
So now we need to ask ourselves whether there is any hope of reversing this trend. Can we ever achieve a balance in higher education between liberal and conservative faculty? I honestly don't think so. The position of college professor will always attract more liberals than conservatives, and the powerful committees that decide whether to grant tenure to a faculty member will always look out for their own. It's something we need to accept, but I'm not so sure that conservatives need to be too concerned about it. There are enough young men and women who form their belief system before they head off to college, and thus won't be swayed by their professors' arguments. There are many more who may even be so turned off by the prevalent liberalism that they become conservatives by default. If this year's mid-term elections are any indication, the impact of liberal university faculty on our nation's belief system is infinitesimal. It won't stop them from ranting and raving in their classrooms, but who cares as long as the majority of Americans aren't listening.
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