The University of Colorado-Boulder found the conservative professor it was seeking.

In The Daily Caller, Jim Huffman (Dean Emeritus, Lewis & Clark Law School) had a few thoughts on what effect this new hire will have on the notably liberal institution.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Steven Hayward has been appointed as the first visiting scholar of conservative thought and policy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Hayward is an outstanding selection for the position. He has written on a wide range of policy questions, is a dynamic and entertaining speaker, and is the author of a two-volume biography of Ronald Reagan. But a visiting scholar of conservative thought and policy? The campus of 32,000 students and 3,800 tenured and tenure-eligible faculty could use a resident scholar of conservative thought and policy — maybe two or three.

It’s easy to understand the motivation of the generous individuals who have funded this three-year experiment. At most universities, only a tiny fraction of the faculty identify as conservative. The Journal reports that a survey conducted at the University of Colorado found only 23 of 825 faculty respondents self-identified as Republicans. Of course, this is not news to any objective observer. The leftward tilt of the academy — really more of an avalanche of liberal thinking — is widely recognized by students and parents, though seldom acknowledged by the institutions or their faculties.

It’s hard for university officials to look a gift horse in the mouth in these tough economic times. Nonetheless, Colorado deserves credit for agreeing to host a scholar of conservative thought and policy. It can be risky business even hosting conservative speakers on many college campuses, so allowing Hayward official status as a faculty member, albeit a temporary one, could be viewed as an act of courage on the part of the powers that be at the university.

On the other hand, it may be that the folks at Colorado see conservative thought and policy as a sort of historical artifact — something that will help students understand why almost all of their professors have embraced progressive ideas and liberal solutions to our personal and social challenges.

Huffman concludes that “affirmative action” for conservatives may be a good thing:

So maybe a little affirmative action for conservatives is in order. And good for one of America’s renowned bastions of liberalism for leading the charge. Well, one guy, even Steven Hayward, is not a charge. Maybe we should think of it as fledgling guerrilla warfare, and a perhaps clumsy acknowledgement that there is a problem<./blockquote>

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