The Liberal Academy

If you're even tangentially part of the academy, you're probably aware of the eternal debate over whether and why American colleges and universities are so politically liberal. Myself, I think that American higher education is laudably, permanently liberal (though often in some pretty shallow ways) largely because the goals of liberalism as a political movement are so directly related to the goals of higher education - for instance, equipping people to think critically, rather than reverently, about those who hold political, social, economic, or some other kind of power, and to act to alter present arrangements of power, rather than simply maintain them.

A new study proposes that one reason conservatives are underrepresented in the academy is that people who are politically conservative prefer to either get jobs right out of college (rather than pursue PhDs) or to start families (again, rather than pursue PhDs). Interesting stuff:

The study — “Left Pipeline: Why Conservatives Don’t Get Doctorates” — argues that the much debated minority status for conservatives in higher education may be the result of differing priorities of graduating college seniors of different political persuasions. The study presents evidence that conservatives are significantly more likely than liberals — at the point when college students decide whether to apply to graduate school — to value raising a family and having money. In contrast, liberals at that point in their lives are significantly more likely to value writing original works.

The authors of the study do not dispute that conservatives are a distinct minority in academe and that the imbalance is problematic. They also hold open the possibility — much proclaimed by other authors at the conference of the American Enterprise Institute where all of the work was presented — that there may be bias against conservatives (although they question whether this has been proven). But the authors of the work on the pipeline say there is considerable evidence that could show conservative self-selection out of academic careers.

Ah, Academe

It must be almost fall on campus: the grounds crews here at Carleton are sprucing everything up, the sports teams are back and practicing, and the college guides are hitting the bookshelves.

The big one, America's Best Colleges from US News & World Report, came out on Monday, and though everyone says they don't care about the rankings, that the ranking methodology stinks, that rankings are meaningless, etc. etc., everyone here at Carleton got an email last week - before the magazine was even for sale - bragging about Carleton's ranking in the national liberal arts college list. Being the quiet, unassuming type, I won't state that number, though it rhymes with "hive." And far be it from my to libel other schools, but c'mon: who couldn't rank number #1, 2, 3, or 4 with a billion-dollar endowment?

And but so, the Best 366 Colleges, from the Princeton Review, just came out, too. This guide provides a more nuanced or idiosyncratic look at colleges, one which never fails to be interesting. Here are the takes on my current employer and my undergrad alma mater:

Carleton College
#13 School Runs Like Butter (quality of administration) (#1: Princeton University)
#18 Their Students Never Stop Studying (#1: Reed College)
#11 Best College Radio Station (#1: St. Bonaventure University)
#13 Everyone Plays Intramural Sports (#1: University of Notre Dame)

Macalester College
#13 Diverse Student Population (#1: Temple U.)
#1 Gay Community Accepted (#1!)
#5 Lots of Race/Class Interaction (#1: Wesleyan College)
#15 Students Ignore God on a Regular Basis (#1: Lewis & Clark College - this whole category owned by liberal arts colleges)
#3 Most Politically Active (#1: The George Washington University)
#13 Students Most Nostalgic For Bill Clinton (#1: Warren Wilson College - who?)
#19 Best Campus Food (#1: Virginia Tech)
#1 Best Quality of Life (#1!)
#19 Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians (#1: Hampshire College)
#9 Great College Towns (#1: Eugene Lang College--The New School for Liberal Arts - duh, it's in Manhattan)

I'd be interested in seeing what readers' searches turn up for their schools. (You have to register to search, but it's a painless registration process and searching is easy.)

True Dat

Definitely.

33 Dead

My maternal grandparents lived in Blacksburg, VA, as did my great grandmother. We used to go there three or four times a year.

I hate that I will now associate that town with this insane shooting.

Times like these, I wish I believed in a specifically designated higher power. But my thoughts and prayers go out to that campus, nonetheless.

What?!?! I have ANOTHER blog?!?

Hiya, Snackers. I know, I'm an asshole, a neglectful, distant, you'll-need-therapy-later kind of blogparent. (See here for a brief explanation why.)

However, I did just want to stop by and direct y'all to this lovely little tidbit at the Bitch's place. This is something to keep handy the next time someone you know bitches about how college profs are overpaid or only work 10 hours a week or any of that other nonsense. I mean, lord: you can't GET paid enough to handle something like that.

And I'm off. But I really, really will try to be better about posting. Er, starting next week, that is. Yeah.

Lib'rals in the Colleges

Every so often, the media will pick up on a report - nay, a study - which shows that American higher education is full to bursting with liberals who use their power to teach - nay, to indoctrinate - the nation's youth with liberal ideas like truth, justice, and peace. According to a real study, with, like, data and a discernibly scientific methodology and stuff, this ain't the case. Surprise, surprise.

"The 'Faculty Bias' Studies: Science or Propaganda," takes eight of the recent studies on faculty politics and judges them by five general tests of social science research. Today’s study finds that the eight all come up short in adhering to research standards. The new study was sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers and the work was conducted by John B. Lee, an education researcher and consultant...

The various studies analyzed are by no means identical, but they tend to have two major themes (although some stress just one of the themes): that faculty members are liberal and that their liberal inclinations are significant in considering their performance.

Lee’s analysis finds some support for the first theme. "Taken together, these studies at best suggest that college faculty members are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans," he writes. However, even on this theme, he notes that the studies tend to exclude community college faculty members and to focus on faculty at elite institutions — probably skewing the results.

The second theme takes a more thorough beating in the study. "Among the most serious claims the authors make is that this liberal dominance results in systematic exclusion of conservative ideas, limited promotion opportunities for conservative faculty, and expression in the classroom of liberal perspectives that damage student leaning," Lee writes. "These claims, however, are not supported by the research. Basic methodological flaws keep a critical reader from accepting the conclusions suggested by the authors."

Predictably, the right-wing researchers think Lee is full of it.

(Via Phoenix Woman.)