With all the news about discrimination, some of the most egregious forms of bias regularly escape scrutiny. One of them is the persistent
discrimination conservative academics suffer at the hands of liberal state universities. In Iowa, for example, three discrimination claims have been
lodged against the university system for blatant bias against applicants for professorships based on either their political affiliation (Republican)
or views on particular issues (abortion).
One of the complaints was filed by Teresa Wagner, J.D. (for the record a former legal policy
advisor at Family Research Council). In 2007 the University of Iowa law school had openings for two legal writing instructors. Wagner applied for
the position with eminent qualifications. She is a former instructor at George Mason University Law School in Virginia, the editor of two books of
essays, and author of several legal briefs, including one filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite that background, the university administration
chose an instructor who described himself as an “off the charts liberal” who “hated Republicans.”
Wagner’s complaint in the case
describes several incidents surrounding the hiring process that illustrated how the university screened against her views on social issues. Lest
there be any doubt about a pattern, it should be noted that the University of Iowa History Department has not a single Republican on its faculty and
the law college has but one (of 50 professors), and he was hired more than 20 years ago. Moreover, the Iowa Supreme Court imposed homosexual marriage
against the people’s wishes earlier this year in Varnum v. Brien. How many Republicans on that court? Zero. Something is gravely amiss in the
Hawkeye State.
Additional Resources
Read the legal
brief: Wagner v. Jones
Press-Citizen: Iowa
needs more intellectually diverse universities
Tony Perkins heads the Family Research Council. This article was excerpted from the Washington Update that he compiles for the FRC.
