UNC Prof Says Republicans Too ‘Anti-Science’ to Hire
What’s the problem here? There are hardly any Republican professors anyway.
The College Fix reports.
UNC professor says Republicans too ‘anti-science’ to hire
William Snider, a professor of 17 years in the Department of Neurology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says he knows why there’s a political imbalance at colleges — meaning, more Democrats in the ranks of the professoriate.
Writing in the Raleigh News & Observer, Snider contends he’s never “heard political affiliation mentioned in any job search” — it’s certainly not on job applications, and it’s never come up in job interviews or during committee deliberations regarding a job candidate.
Being that’s the case as he knows it, then “why is the ratio of party affiliation so lopsided?” he asks. The answer: Science.
(Snider uses, by the way, the 12:1 faculty ratio of Democrats to Republicans cited by North Carolina Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger, who probably got it from The College Fix’s own Alec Dent.)
“One reason is the anti-science attitude adopted by many rank and file Republicans and supported by some Republican leaders,” the professor says, echoing Cornell faculty from a year ago. “For example, a Pew Research Survey in 2013 found that only 43 percent of Republicans believe that humans have evolved over time.”
How should scientists react to this? The theory of evolution is the central organizing principle of modern biology. If Republican leaders don’t believe it is true, how can scientists support them? Further, public funds in North Carolina are directed at “voucher” schools that teach that the theory of evolution is false. How can we join the party that apportions funds in this way?
UNC professor says Republicans too ‘anti-science’ to hire (The College Fix)
