In a recent essay in The Chronicle, the Johns Hopkins political scientist Steven Teles asserted that “the public’s impression that American higher education has grown increasingly closed-minded is undeniably correct.” He pointed to the declining presence of conservatives on academic faculties and in graduate cohorts, arguing that it poses an acute problem for how academe functions and is a serious drag on how higher education is perceived.
Teles’s essay tapped into a long-brewing debate about political diversity and the professoriate. It also elicited a large and varied response from readers. To continue this complicated and contentious discussion, we asked a group of academics to weigh in.
Teles’s essay tapped into a long-brewing debate about political diversity and the professoriate. It also elicited a large and varied response from readers. To continue this complicated and contentious discussion, we asked a group of academics to weigh in.
