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, I asked dozens of faculty and administrators in our 

 how much of a role personal politics should, and does, play in the hiring of tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty.

(Emmer was reportedly rejected over his political views, including his vocal opposition to same-sex marriage.)

The general consensus seems to be: Politics aren't absent, but they're not really on the minds of most faculty -- and generally shouldn't be.

As University of North Dakota faculty member Marcus Weaver-Hightower writes:

 faculty member Carol Knicker says, because higher education needs diversity of opinion:

And they shouldn't play a role especially it they have no connection to the subject at hand, writes 

, says higher-education institutions do have missions to protect:

That's especially important when such politics potentially threaten to undermine a professor’s ability to deal fairly with all students, some faculty say.

That's not just a theoretical concern, Weaver-Hightower writes:

And the public status of a candidate probably changes the classroom dynamics, writes Jim Heynen, retired writer-in-residence at 

Ethan Munson, faculty member at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, sees hiring as a business proposition:

And never forget the hassle factor, writes Carolyn Schmidt, a full-time adjunct instructor in Wichita who teaches online:

Education News

On Campus Blog

Alex Friedrich

Author

In writing about the Hamline-Emmer hiring controversy, I asked dozens of faculty and administrators in our Public Insight Network how much of a role personal politics should, and does, play in the hiring of tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. (Emmer was reportedly rejected over his political views, including his vocal opposition to same-sex marriage.) The general…

What role should personal politics play in the hiring of faculty?

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