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American Association of University Professors
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Posted on 04/11/2005 12:07:04 PM PDT by SteveH
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American Association of University Professors
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Political Intrusions into the Academy
In many countries, governments have a larger role in their university affairs than is true of government in the United States. In at least a few other places, the ruling political party controls universities directly, determining the faculty to be hired and promoted, the students to be admitted, the subject matter to be taught, the research to be pursued, and the speakers to be welcomed. In the United States, universities and colleges form an independent sector, accountable to the academic disciplines represented in the institutions, and to the judgments of their peer institutions through the accreditation system. By tradition and by purpose, the academy in the U.S. is not accountable in its teaching and research to the political arm of either the state or the federal government. The freedom to teach and learn and the freedom to discover and convey knowledge are fundamental to the common good of this society and, indeed, of any free society. These freedoms, which together describe aspects of academic freedom, are treasured attributes of higher education in the U.S. Their protection requires that colleges and universities be free of political interference in carrying out their educational responsibilities. The AAUP—and faculty bodies on campuses all over the country—resist political intrusions in the academic work of faculty and students. Whether the issue is the choice of assigned texts, the structure of a curriculum, scholarly review of a colleague's work, or invitations to guest scholars or speakers, keeping political controls out of the classroom is key to the protection of academic freedom. In 2004, several state legislatures and Congress considered—or even passed—measures that challenge the political independence of colleges and universities. Some political groups have proposed further legislation on these and related issues. The following publications and resources describe some of these measures and AAUP's (and other groups') opposition and concerns.
"Academic Bill of Rights" Campaign: Government Oversight of Teaching and Learning Governmental "Advisory Board" for International Studies Centers Politics and Science
Legal Commentary
(Updated 3/05)
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IMHO this stance is hypocritical and self-serving. The university is established to serve the community, not dictate to the community what it may or may not do. The problem with indoctrination on campus now is that the public is beginning to become aware of it. This puts professors on the defensive, and all they can do is to continue to pretend that the problem is imaginary (the latest online issue of The Nation has a few articles that serve as examples of this thinking) or attack the messenger (a typical leftist tactic so common that professors don't even think twice when they use it).
It is a law of nature that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. IMHO academia is in mass denial that they deserve immunity to, or can indefinitely resist, blowback from community as a direct result of continued practices of political indoctrination on campus.
The problem is that the professors have allowed THEIR politics to intrude into the academy. If they won't fix it, then the politicians will have to.
No kidding! "Give us billions of dollars but don't dream of telling us how to spend it all!"
I think politicians should take these morons literally and zero-fund these places in the next budgets. "Ok, we'll get government out of higher education".
Now that would be funny.
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