Reforming the Politically Correct University

Conservative critics have complained about the leftward tilt of college and university faculty since the 1950s. In contrast, the American Association of University Professors and similar groups have either denied that such a tilt occurs or refused to acknowledge that a balanced ideological representation is needed to educate students in colleges and universities. While emotions run high, until now neither side has examined the topic in a systematic and comprehensive fashion.

To answer these questions, AEI has commissioned nineteen research papers from professors and prominent scholars to examine whether intellectual diversity is lacking on college campuses, whether conservative academics have more difficulty in attaining posts and promotions, and what the causes and degrees of bias are in specific disciplines: English, history, political science, psychology, linguistics, education, and the sciences. At this event, the authors of these studies will present the results of their empirical research and discuss possible reforms that may make academia more intellectually vibrant.

Please join us on November 14 for a conference at which original research shedding light on this important question will be presented and discussed.

About the Author

 

Frederick M.
Hess



  • An educator, political scientist and author, Frederick M. Hess studies a range of K-12 and higher education issues. He is the author of influential books on education including “The Same Thing Over and Over,” “Education Unbound,” “ Common Sense School Reform,” “ Revolution at the Margins” and “Spinning Wheels,” and he pens the Education Week blog, Rick Hess Straight Up. His work has appeared in scholarly and popular outlets such as Teachers College Record, Harvard Education Review, Social Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, American Politics Quarterly, Chronicle of Higher Education, Phi Delta Kappan, Educational Leadership, U.S. News & World Report, National Affairs, The Washington Post, New York Times, The Atlantic and National Review. He has edited widely cited volumes on education philanthropy, stretching the school dollar, the impact of education research and No Child Left Behind.  He serves as executive editor of Education Next, as lead faculty member for the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program, on the review boards for the Broad Prize in Urban Education and the Broad Prize for Public School Charters as well as on the boards of directors of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, 4.0 SCHOOLS and the American Board for the Certification of Teaching Excellence. A former high school social studies teacher, he has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Rice University and Harvard University. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University as well as an M.Ed. in Teaching and Curriculum.


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  • Email: rhess@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Lauren Aronson
    Phone: 202-862-5904
    Email: lauren.aronson@aei.org

 

Christina Hoff
Sommers
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