Robert Maranto is oppressed. Well, at least he feels like his status as a registered Republican in a university setting places him in a distinct minority.
A professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas, Maranto spoke this week at the Clinton School about his book, “The Politically Correct University: Problems, Scope and Reform,” a compilation of essays arguing that political correctness harms the freedom of thought in today’s higher education community.
Maranto contends that conservative perspectives are underrepresented in university communities and liberal ideologies may unduly influence students.
“The nature of what we study pushes us in the real world,” Maranto said.
One key indicator of ideological influence is the political leanings of the speakers that visit a university. Maranto was impressed with the number of conservative speakers at who have visited the Clinton School. The school does a superior job of hosting a wide range of political thought and ideology, Maranto said.
Nationwide, conservatives are outnumbered by liberals in university departments from two to one to as much as 20 to one or more, Moranto said.
“We’ve gone from reproducing ourselves to cloning ourselves,” he said.
Maranto pointed out some things that universities can do to make their campuses more politically balanced, such as promoting more transparency and accountability with faculty hirings and combating groupthink within departments. He emphasized increasing opportunities for faculty and students to engage in active dialogue and debate.
“Professors need to re-embrace a culture of reasoned inquiry and debate,” Maranto said. “Debates are healthy and helpful and [universities] don’t have nearly enough of it.”
Maranto is the 21st Century Chair in Leadership at the Department of Education Reform at the UA and previously served as associate professor of political science and public administration at Villanova University.
This post was authored by Clinton School student Todd Moore (’10).