Conservative and liberal commentators alike have long argued that social bias exists in American higher education. Yet those arguments have largely lacked much supporting evidence. In this first systematic attempt to substantiate social bias in higher education, George Yancey embarks on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the social biases and attitudes of faculties in American universities--surveying professors in disciplines from political science to experimental biology and then examining the blogs of 42 sociology professors. In so doing, Yancey finds that politically--and, even more so, religiously--conservative academics are at a distinct disadvantage in our institutions of learning, threatening the free exchange of ideas to which our institutions aspire and leaving many scientific inquiries unexplored.

First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In response to the challenges of bringing the tenacious Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end, many have offered grand historical perspectives, vague formulas, or visionary new proposals. Aharon Klieman, however, goes beyond abstract reflections to offer a clear and practical assessment of which issues will be important in the upcoming negotiations, and why. At the top of his list is the partitionist strategy of dividing land through political and territorial compromise. Territorial partition--an idea circulating for over sixty years--becomes more prominent now, according to Klieman, and is the only viable option (if any) for ending the conflict. Compromising Palestine argues that while the Oslo peace accords are an important declaration of principles and provide a mechanism for peace, they are singularly ambiguous and do not provide tangible solutions, which must be sought through practical compromises and concrete plans followed to the letter by both sides. Falling between broad general discussion and actual operational plans, this concise, clearly focused, and beautifully written book will provide a very useful reference point for anyone following the peace process--whether academic, policy maker, or general reader--and will contribute to the quality of analysis at each stage of the debate during the crucial final status period.

Liberals represent a large majority of American faculty, especially in the social sciences and humanities. Does minority status affect the work of conservative scholars or the academy as a whole? In Passing on the Right, Dunn and Shields explore the actual experiences of conservative academics, examining how they navigate their sometimes hostile professional worlds. Offering a nuanced picture of this political minority, this book will engage academics and general readers on both sides of the political spectrum.

A conservative college professor's compelling defense of liberal education Not so long ago, conservative intellectuals such as William F. Buckley Jr. believed universities were worth fighting for. Today, conservatives seem more inclined to burn them down. In Let's Be Reasonable, conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks finds in liberal education an antidote to this despair, arguing that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable—and revealing why the health of our democracy is at stake. Drawing on the ideas of John Locke and other thinkers, Marks presents the case for why, now more than ever, conservatives must not give up on higher education. He recognizes that professors and administrators frequently adopt the language and priorities of the left, but he explains why conservative nightmare visions of liberal persecution and indoctrination bear little resemblance to what actually goes on in college classrooms. Marks examines why advocates for liberal education struggle to offer a coherent defense of themselves against their conservative critics, and demonstrates why such a defense must rest on the cultivation of reason and of pride in being reasonable. More than just a campus battlefield guide, Let's Be Reasonable recovers what is truly liberal about liberal education—the ability to reason for oneself and with others—and shows why the liberally educated person considers reason to be more than just a tool for scoring political points.

Hundreds of thousands of professors claim Christian as their primary identity, and teaching as their primary vocational responsibility. Yet, in the contemporary university the intersection of these two identities often is a source of fear, misunderstanding, and moral confusion. How does being a Christian change one's teaching? Indeed, should it? Inspired by George Marsden's 1997 book The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, this book draws on a survey of more than 2,300 Christian professors from 48 different institutions in North America, to reveal a wide range of thinking about faith-informed teaching. Placing these empirical findings alongside the wider scholarly conversation about the role of identity-informed teaching, Perry L. Glanzer and Nathan F. Alleman argue that their Christian identity can and should inform professors' teaching in the contemporary pluralistic university. The authors provide a nuanced alternative to those who advocate for restraining the influence of one's extra-professional identity and those who, in the name of authenticity, promote the full integration of one's primary identity into the classroom. The book charts new ground regarding how professors think about Christian teaching specifically, as well as how they should approach identity-informed teaching more generally.

Most economies advance by simultaneously decreasing costs and increasing quality. Unfortunately, when it comes to higher education, this has been turned on its head. Costs keep rising while quality declines. How has this happened? What can be done? This exceptional volume looks at the issues facing higher education from the perspective of both economics and history. Each chapter explores how the lessons learned from market competition in other sectors of the economy can be applied to higher education in order to bring about innovation, improved quality, and lower costs. The opening section offers a history of for-profit education before the Morrill Act—the federal legislation that funded land-grant universities; reviews the Act’s impact; and concludes with an exploration of federal student aid and how it prevents new funding options from entering the market. Section two examines higher education as it stands today—what is driving up college prices; tenure; administrative bloat; and university governance. And, the concluding third section shows how robust competition in higher education can be energized, and takes a deep look at for-profit vs. non-profit institutions. Unprofitable Schooling provides a sober and informative assessment of the state of higher education, critically covering historical assumptions, increasing government involvement, reflexive aversion to profit, and other, maybe unexpected, conclusions.