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Help Wanted: Lefty College Seeks Right-Wing Prof
Wall Street Journal ^

Posted on 05/13/2008 5:41:58 AM PDT by Sub-Driver

Help Wanted: Lefty College Seeks Right-Wing Prof CU-Boulder Bid to Endow A 'Conservative' Chair Leaves Both Sides Uneasy By STEPHANIE SIMON May 13, 2008; Page A1

BOULDER, Colo. -- How liberal is the University of Colorado at Boulder?

The campus hot-dog stand sells tofu wieners. A recent pro-marijuana rally drew a crowd of 10,000, roughly a third the size of the student body. And according to one professor's analysis of voter registration, the 800-strong faculty includes just 32 Republicans.

Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson surveys this landscape with unease. A college that champions diversity, he believes, must think beyond courses in gay literature, Chicano studies and feminist theory. "We should also talk about intellectual diversity," he says. So over the next year, Mr. Peterson plans to raise $9 million to create an endowed chair for what is thought to be the nation's first Professor of Conservative Thought and Policy.

Mr. Peterson's quest has been greeted with protests from some faculty and students, who say the move is too -- well, radical. "Why set aside money specifically for a conservative?" asks Curtis Bell, a teaching assistant in political science. "I'd rather see a quality academic than someone paid to have a particular perspective."

Even some conservatives who have long pushed for balance in academia voice qualms. Among them is David Horowitz, a conservative agitator whose book "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America" includes two Boulder faculty members: an associate professor of ethnic studies who writes about the intersection of Chicano and lesbian issues, and a philosophy professor focused on feminist politics and "global gender justice."

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ac; academicbias; college; cu; diversity
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To: Sub-Driver

....at first I dismissed this as more academic b*llsh*t, but on second thought I think it’s illuminating...now that colleges been outed by Horowitz and others; they’ve got a public relations problem, and it’s getting bigger...in-your-face Anti-Americanism is bad for business and college presidents know it...this guy at Colorado is worried....that’s why he’s doing this....time was, the faculty Senate would have shouted him down....their silence on this is telling.


21 posted on 05/13/2008 6:25:28 AM PDT by STONEWALLS
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To: Nervous Tick

I know. Our son was at CU this year. Mercifully (for us) he flunked out. Onward and upward! I went to Berzerkeley, so I know what tofu-addled minds can absorb. But we did find some great restaurants in Boulder.


22 posted on 05/13/2008 6:28:42 AM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: Sub-Driver

Why are the taxpayers of Colorado coerced into funding this left-wing support group and indoctrination center?


23 posted on 05/13/2008 6:30:00 AM PDT by popdonnelly (Concerned about the price of arugula)
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To: Sub-Driver

ah...boulder,

called

20 square miles

surrounded by reality.


24 posted on 05/13/2008 6:31:14 AM PDT by ken21 ( people die + you never hear from them again.)
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To: Nervous Tick

I don’t like sushi, but their teriyaki is good. My friends who do say it’s the best in Boulder. I found Flagstaff too peppery. I like the Hungry Toad, and I used to like Sawadee a lot, but they closed (as far as I know).


25 posted on 05/13/2008 6:36:42 AM PDT by coloradan (The US is becoming a banana republic, except without the bananas - or the republic.)
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To: Sub-Driver
A recent pro-marijuana rally drew a crowd of 10,000, roughly a third the size of the student body.

Slightly off topic, but that's not necessarily a left-wing cause. Most doctrinaire leftists are also the most fervent prohibitionists. Case in point: that the first federal drug prohibition laws and national alcohol prohibition were passed during the Woodrow Wilson administration, and federal marijuana prohibition was passed on FDR's watch.

26 posted on 05/13/2008 6:38:32 AM PDT by bassmaner (Hey commies: I am a white male, and I am guilty of NOTHING! Sell your 'white guilt' elsewhere.)
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To: Sub-Driver

How liberal is the University of Colorado at Boulder?

CU is very LIBERAL, I’m surprised they keep scores during SPORTING EVENTS. I mean, they shouldn’t should they? They don’t want to losers to feel bad if the lost!!


27 posted on 05/13/2008 6:41:32 AM PDT by EagleandLiberty (El Rushbo Tribal name -- RinoHunter Vote Conservatives '08)
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To: Red Badger

Good point. Colorado was once a site where professors nearing retirement and young bloods on the rise were employed. Today it ranks as one of America’s largest junior colleges. In the business world one hires a Colorado grad with fingers crossed.


28 posted on 05/13/2008 6:45:07 AM PDT by Melchior
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To: Sub-Driver

Maybe they can hire Hillary Clinton if she loses.

She pretty Conservative compared to CU right?


29 posted on 05/13/2008 6:46:10 AM PDT by Tzimisce (How Would Mohammed Vote? Hillary for President!)
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To: coloradan

>> I don’t like sushi, but their teriyaki is good. My friends who do say it’s the best in Boulder.

Thanks for the review! Mrs. Tick and I will be in Boulder later this year (Lord willing and the creek don’t rise), so maybe we’ll give it a try.

You might want to try Greenbriar Inn: http://www.greenbriarinn.com/

I think the food is great. Lots of game dishes. We’ve been eating there for years, we go every chance we get.


30 posted on 05/13/2008 6:48:04 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (La Raza hates white folks. And John McCain loves La Raza!)
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To: Melchior

>> In the business world one hires a Colorado grad with fingers crossed.

That’s simply not true. Competition for CU grads is fierce! I guess you’re just not familiar with the snowboard manufacturing business, dude.

CU grads are also in great demand among bongmakers. They can step immediately into a product test or field service job the day they graduate.


31 posted on 05/13/2008 6:57:14 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (La Raza hates white folks. And John McCain loves La Raza!)
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To: Sub-Driver
Mr. Peterson's quest has been greeted with protests from some faculty and students, who say the move is too -- well, radical. "Why set aside money specifically for a conservative?" asks Curtis Bell, a teaching assistant in political science. "I'd rather see a quality academic than someone paid to have a particular perspective."

He's too dim to see that there already IS a litmus test to "have a particular (liberal) perspective".

32 posted on 05/13/2008 7:04:24 AM PDT by weegee (Osama Obama claims to have visited 57 states now. Can you say Potatoe Head?)
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To: Sub-Driver
"Curtis Bell, a teaching assistant in political science. "I'd rather see a quality academic than someone paid to have a particular perspective."

He's either in total denial, or not the brightest bulb in the pack!

33 posted on 05/13/2008 7:12:39 AM PDT by sweet_diane ("They hate us cause they ain't us." RTR! ~runs with scissors~ of the Rush tribe)
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To: Sub-Driver

Wow. I had lost track of Bud Peterson’s career since I was at the M.E. department at Texas A&M. This is quite good news for CU Boulder. By the way, at that time, the M.E. department was QUITE well populated with dynamic, visionary evangelical Christian professors. I do not know if Bud Peterson is a Christian, but he’s a good Ag, though, as evidenced by his work at CU Boulder.

https://www.cu.edu/content/cu-regents-appoint-bud-peterson-new-chancellor-cuboulder

DENVER

–The Board of Regents, today, appointed G. P. Bud Peterson as the
Chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder. His appointment
will be effective July 15, 2006.

“Bud is an
outstanding scholar and administrator who will play a key role in
taking the Boulder campus to a new level,” said president Brown.

Bud
Peterson is currently the Provost at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in Troy, New York. At Rensselaer, he has been instrumental in the
institutional transformation currently underway, and has played a key
role in the dramatic improvement in the quality, size and diversity of
the faculty. Prior to joining Rensselaer in 2000, Peterson had worked
extensively in the sciences, particularly in engineering. He spent
time with NASA as a research scientist at the Johnson Space Center. He
then held faculty and administrative posts at Texas A&M, which is a
member of the prestigious American Association of Universities. The
Boulder campus has been an AAU member since 1966.

Peterson
garnered national honors at Texas A&M. He was named the
Halliburton Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the College of
Engineering’s Tenneco Professor. Peterson’s work drew the attention of
the National Science Foundation who invited him to serve as the Program
Director for its Thermal Transport and Thermal Processing Division.
The NSF also honored him with its Award for Outstanding Management.

“I
am honored to have been selected to lead the University of Colorado at
Boulder during this important time of new opportunities,” said
Peterson. “President Brown has shown tremendous leadership in
establishing a new direction for the University of Colorado, and I look
forward to having the chance to work with him and the campus’ academic
and research communities.

“I was very
impressed with the faculty, staff and students I met during my recent
visit to campus, and am confident that by working together, we will
continue to improve and advance the quality and national standing of
the University,” added Peterson.

Peterson
oversaw the hiring of nearly 40 percent of the current faculty at
Rensselaer, increasing the total number of tenured and tenure-track
faculty by 20 percent, and improving the diversity of the
tenured/tenure-track faculty by more than doubling the number of
under-represented minorities and increasing the number of women by 40
percent. In addition during his nearly six-year tenure as Provost, the
quality, size and diversity of the student body have all increased,
with the number of full-time Ph.D. students increasing by 25 percent.

The
chancellor, a direct report to the president of the University, will be
the chief academic and administrative officer of the CU-Boulder
campus. The chancellor is responsible to the president for the conduct
and affairs of UCB in accordance with the policies of the Board of
Regents for all operations and activities at the campus. Primary
responsibilities entail development and fundraising activities for the
campus, and on-going responsibilities for representational activities
with alumni, donors, supporters, and business and community leaders.

The
University is offering Peterson a $330,000 salary. As the chancellor,
Peterson and his family will reside in the University Residence.

After
a six-month search process, the search committee forwarded five names
to president Brown for his review. Following interviews with the
candidates, president Brown recommended two finalists for the post.

This
week Elizabeth “Betty” Capaldi, Ph.D., the Vice Chancellor and Chief of
Staff of The State University of New York system (SUNY) withdrew her
name from the process. She has subsequently accepted a position with
Arizona State University.

The University
of Colorado is a three-campus system with campuses in Boulder and
Colorado Springs, and a Denver and Health Sciences Center campus
located in downtown Denver and at the former Fitzsimons Army Base in
Aurora. CU is a premier teaching and research university, ranked sixth
among public institutions in federal research expenditures by the
National Science Foundation. Academic prestige is marked by CU’s four
Nobel laureates, seven Mac Arthur “genius” Fellows, 17 astronauts, 19
Rhodes Scholars and CU-Boulder’s ranking of 11th best university in the
world in The Economist.

For
further information, please contact Michele McKinney in the CU System
Office of Institutional Relations at (303) 492-6206.


34 posted on 05/13/2008 7:14:14 AM PDT by fishtank (Fenced BORDERS, English LANGUAGE, Patriotic CULTURE: A good plan.)
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To: bassmaner
"Slightly off topic, but that's not necessarily a left-wing cause. Most doctrinaire leftists are also the most fervent prohibitionists."

My thought exactly...but I'm too much of a wimp to post it here. lol Many conservatives I know (real world, tho some here too) remain in the closet re: their opinion of the marijuana laws.

35 posted on 05/13/2008 7:18:15 AM PDT by sweet_diane ("They hate us cause they ain't us." RTR! ~runs with scissors~ of the Rush tribe)
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To: Sub-Driver

Is it in the Classifieds under “Cannon Fodder”?


36 posted on 05/13/2008 7:18:55 AM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: Sub-Driver
I can't believe no one has commented on this little tid bit yet ....

an associate professor of ethnic studies who writes about the intersection of Chicano and lesbian issues, and a philosophy professor focused on feminist politics and "global gender justice."

I couldn't stop laughing!

37 posted on 05/13/2008 7:32:58 AM PDT by TexGuy (If it has the slimmest of chances of being considered sarcasm ... IT IS!)
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To: Sub-Driver

a question and a thought -—

...should there be two chairs — one for a social conservative and one for an economic conservative?

....perhaps the whole hub-bub at Boulder, CO is simply a matter of less oxygen at higher heights.


38 posted on 05/13/2008 7:40:50 AM PDT by Yaakov Yehuda
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To: Sub-Driver

The career prospects of a Conservative on that campus bring to mind Theodore Bikel’s joke about the bright future of an Israeli Swineherd.


39 posted on 05/13/2008 8:24:22 AM PDT by Gorzaloon
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To: Sub-Driver

I volunteer, if I can bring my guns on campus.


40 posted on 05/13/2008 8:28:33 AM PDT by Havok (MOLON LABE!!!!)
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