Reforming the Politically Correct University
About This Event

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 Listen to Audio


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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.

Agenda
8:45 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast
9:00
Introduction:
Frederick M. Hess, AEI
9:15
I.
Diagnosing the Problem
Presenters:
Daniel Klein, George Mason University
Charlotta Stern, Swedish Institute for Social Research
Matthew Woessner, Penn State Harrisburg
April Kelly-Woessner, Elizabethtown College
Stanley Rothman, Smith College
S. Robert Lichter, Center for Media and Public Affairs
Discussant:
Stuart Taylor, National Journal
Moderator:
Richard Redding, Villanova University School of Law
10:45
II.
How Ethnic Diversity Trumps Ideological Diversity
Presenters:
Peter Wood, National Association of Scholars
Greg Lukianoff, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Sandra Stotsky, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Discussant:
Richard Redding, Villanova University School of Law
Moderator:
Robert Maranto, Villanova University
12:15 p.m.
Luncheon
1:15
III.
Why It Matters? Theory and Practice
Presenters:
John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute
James Ceaser, University of Virginia
Robert Maranto, Villanova University
William O’Donohue, University of Nevada, Reno
Noretta Koertge, Indiana University
Discussant:
Jeremy Mayer, George Mason University
Moderator:
Frederick M. Hess, AEI
3:15
IV.
What Is to Be Done?
Presenters:
Anne Neal, American Council of Trustees and Alumni
James Piereson, Center for the American University, Manhattan Institute
John Agresto, John Agresto & Associates
Stephen Balch, National Association of Scholars
Discussant:
Christina Hoff Sommers, AEI
Moderator:
Robert Maranto, Villanova University
5:00

Adjournment

AEI Participants

 

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 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, The Washington Post, New York Times 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 Board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education, and 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.

    Follow AEI Education Policy on Twitter


  • Email: rhess@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Rebecca King
    Phone: 202-862-5904
    Email: Rebecca.King@aei.org

 

Christina Hoff
Sommers
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