To the Editor:
Daniel Klein, an associate professor of Economics from Santa Clara University, co-authored a study that found Democratic professors vastly outnumber their Republican colleagues. Among faculty in anthropology, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 30-1, in sociology 28-1 and in history 10-1. Ironically, in the two fields most closely related to politics, political science and economics, the margins were much closer: 7-1 and 3-1, respectively.
The disproportionate preponderance of liberal professors is not a revolutionary discovery. Nor is this information unfamiliar at Penn. As an undergraduate and graduate student at Penn, I cannot recall even one moderately Republican professor, though I could easily relate a litany of liberal statements made in class by unabashedly Democratic professors.
Penn clearly believes homogeneity is a danger. Consider the familiar disclaimer, "The University of Pennsylvania values diversity and seeks talented students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds ... [and] does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability," etc. Unfortunately, one category is conspicuously absent: ideology.
Of course, the old canard will be told that Republicans have little inclination for entering the academy. Klein's study shows the opposite, finding a greater share of Republicans among the non-academic members of scholars' associations. Republicans do want to get involved, but the obstacles are formidable. A more reasonable explanation for the dearth of Republicans is the academic hiring process and the discouragement of conservative students, whether intentional or not, from pursuing graduate degrees.
Is this discrimination?
The Supreme Court ruled in Griggs v. Duke Power Co. that a plaintiff need not show a purpose or intent of discrimination to prove its existence. Instead, statistical evidence of a "disproportionate impact" can be used to show a selection process is discriminatory.
Unfortunately, Penn professor Alan Kors said it best in David Brooks' column, "Lonely Campus Voices." He said, "One is desperate to see people of independent mind willing to enter the academic world. On the other hand, it is simply the case they will be entering hostile and discriminatory territory."
Jason Bartlett
SAS '05
