Universities are not left-leaning

it's not "woke", it's science.

Trump and his followers are under the deluded sense that American universities are “woke” and that they consciously stifle the views of more conservative thinkers through hiring practices, invitations to lecture at the university and programs that advance diversity, equity and inclusion within the university setting.

But that’s simply not true. Instead, what universities are doing is exactly what they’re supposed to do - ensure intellectual rigor and teach students information based on research that is replicable, reproducible, and transparent. Here’s just three examples to make the point:

The flat Earth society

While there is a very fringe element of the scientific community that actually believes the Earth is flat, universities don’t teach this or hire people who believe in it because it simply isn’t true. No one who wrote a research paper concluding that the Earth is flat would ever get that research published in a peer-reviewed journal. And that’s a good thing. It’s not that the scientific community isn’t open to opposing views. Instead, the scientific community often allows for opposing views - but those viewpoints need to have some semblance of scientific rigor. It’s not “woke”, its science.

Herd Immunity

There’s also a fringe element within the scientific community that expressed the view that the world should have relied on herd immunity rather than ensure as many people as possible were vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Yet, no serious virologist would take this notion seriously. Over 7M people have died from this virus and if the entire world had decided to follow these fringe scientists its an inescapable conclusion that many millions more would have died by the implementation of such a strategy. This is why most peer-reviewed journals, university research and classes on virology simply don’t include this type of “alternative viewpoint” to enter into the discussion. It’s not “woke”, it’s science.

DEI research and programs

The reason universities have incorporated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into their admissions practices and teachings is that most scholarly research has concluded such programs have a number of benefits for employers, schools, social behavior and the nation at large. It’s not “woke”, its science.

1. employers - Many studies have found that diverse organizations outperform their non-diverse counterparts. For example, when researchers studied the gender composition of management teams of the top firms in Standard & Poor’s Composite 1500 list, they found that, on average, “female representation in top management leads to an increase of $42 million in firm value.” DEI programs work to foster diverse teams.

2. Schools - Research to date suggests student achievement is higher in diverse schools. DEI programs work to foster diverse student bodies.

3. social behavior - In a 2010 study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that people of higher socioeconomic status (SES) were worse at reading other people’s emotions—a basic part of empathy. DEI programs work to mitigate preconceived and prejudicial notions of other groups.

4. national implications - A recent Pew Research Center survey found that Americans see inequality as the greatest source of social conflict in the country today. DEI programs work to mitigate economic inequality.

The Bottom Line

The purpose of higher education is to advance knowledge, pure and simple. That knowledge has to be predicated on facts and truths and if alternative viewpoints don’t pass that test, it’s because it’s intellectually unsupportable. It’s not because it’s “conservative”. As Harvard’s mission statement puts it:

Beginning in the classroom with exposure to new ideas, new ways of understanding, and new ways of knowing, students embark on a journey of intellectual transformation. Through a diverse living environment, where students live with people who are studying different topics, who come from different walks of life and have evolving identities, intellectual transformation is deepened and conditions for social transformation are created. From this we hope that students will begin to fashion their lives by gaining a sense of what they want to do with their gifts and talents, assessing their values and interests, and learning how they can best serve the world.