Chicago School Unwelcome at Chicago

University of Chicago academics oppose naming a new research centre after Milton Friedman:

In a letter to U. of C. President Robert Zimmer, 101 professors—about 8 percent of the university’s full-time faculty—said they feared that having a center named after the conservative, free-market economist could “reinforce among the public a perception that the university’s faculty lacks intellectual and ideological diversity.”

“It is a right-wing think tank being put in place,” said Bruce Lincoln, a professor of the history of religions and one of the faculty members who met with the administration Tuesday. “The long-term consequences will be very severe. This will be a flagship entity and it will attract a lot of money and a lot of attention, and I think work at the university and the university’s reputation will take a serious rightward turn to the detriment of all.”

...faculty critics are concerned that it will be one-sided, attracting scholars and donors who share a point of view.

The opposition probably tells us more about the lack of diversity and the ideological biases at the rest of the university than at the new research centre.

posted on 19 June 2008 by skirchner in Economics

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