Conservatives and Liberals in the Academy: Two Upcoming Events at CU this Week 

A blog post from the 2016-7 Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy, Prof. Francis Beckwith:

This week the Center of Western Civilization, Thought, and Policy (CWCTP) is hosting two events. The first is a talk by George Yancey, Professor of Sociology at the University of North Texas. He will be speaking on “Conservatives in Academia: Is There Bias Against Them?” Professor Yancey is the author of several books on race, religion, and the academy. Among them are Compromising Scholarship: Religious and Political Bias in American Higher Education (Baylor University Press, 2010),  (w/ Michael Emerson) Transcending Racial Barriers: Toward a Mutual Obligations Approach (Oxford University Press, 2010), Neither Jew Nor Gentile: Exploring Issues of Racial Diversity on Protestant College Campuses (Oxford University Press, 2010), and Hostile Environment Understanding and Responding to Anti-Christian Bias (InterVarsity Press, 2015).  Professor Yancey’s talk will be held on September 21, 2016 at 7:15 PM in Eaton Humanities 150. 

The next day CWCTP will be hosting a panel discussion, “Why Are College Professors Liberal?”  Moderated by CWCTP director, Robert Pasnau, the panel will feature Professor Yancey, Joshua Dunn (Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) and David S. Brown (Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of Colorado, Boulder).  Professor Dunn’s most recent book, (with Jon Shields) Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University (Oxford University Press, 2016), has been praised by NYU’s Jonathan Haidt as “the authoritative treatise, integrating all previous work in an accessible and fair-minded way, and adding in empathy - the rarely heard voices of conservative professors. All academics should read this book, as should anyone who wants to improve the scholarship, prestige, and public funding of the academy." The panel will be held on September 22, 2016 at 4:00 PM in the British Studies Room in the Norlin Library.  

I hope that you will join us on Wednesday and Thursday for what I am sure will prove to be the sort of thought-provoking and conversation-starting events that are vital to the life of a university. 

Francis Beckwith

Sept 19. 2016