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A new study of more than twenty thousand full-time faculty at American four-year colleges and universities reveals a professoriate that tilts left, but not at the expense of ideological diversity.
In the study, 55.8% of faculty surveyed described themselves as “liberal” or “far left,” as opposed to 44.3% who called themselves “middle of the road,” “conservative,” or “far right.”
These results are almost identical to those collected the last time this survey was conducted, three years ago. Other findings changed dramatically, however:
- 66.1% said they had a professional responsibility to “help students develop personal values,” an increase of 15.3 points since the previous study.
- 70.2% said the same of helping students to “develop moral character,” a 13.1 point gain.
- 75.2% said they work to “enhance students’ knowledge of and appreciation for other racial/ethnic groups,” a 17.6 point rise.
- 55.5% said they consider it “very important” or “essential” to foster “a commitment to community service” in their students, a 19.1 increase.
The student staffers at the Oregon Daily Emerald have ended their strike after winning three of their four demands. They will be entering into mediation with their board of directors next week to resolve the remaining issues.
As the Emerald staff noted on their blog, thirty-three student newspapers across the nation have published a joint editorial in solidarity with the strikers.
I went to the “Talk Back NYU!” forum last night, and it was definitely a worthwhile event.
The proceedings were confidential, so I won’t go into any detail, but I don’t think I’ll be violating any trusts if I pass along a few general impressions:
The TBNYU folks are engaged in a thoughtful conversation about what went wrong in the occupation, and how to apply what they’ve learned to the future. They’re searching for ways to get word out more effectively, and to bring more NYU students on board. That last seems to already be happening — a solid chunk of the people present at last nights’ meeting were new to the group.
The dominant impression I was left with was of a group with more on the ball than their public persona suggests. Why they weren’t better able to articulate their message, and to what extent they’ll be able to do so going forward, remain open questions, I think, but they’re engaged with those questions in a serious way.
We’ve just gotten a heads-up from Roy of The Young Vote about an action taking place in New York this afternoon…
At 3 pm today, there’s going to be a CUNY rally at BMCC against Governor Paterson’s proposed budget cuts and tuition hikes. The rally is going to be held at the outdoor plaza at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, and will be followed by a march on City Hall at four.
Here’s the rally’s facebook event page and a map of the location.
studentactivism.net 
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