HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: Lawprof: University of Louisville Law School No Longer Neutral.
Since 1846 the law school at the University of Louisville has provided nonpartisan space for individuals to teach, discuss, and research matters of law and public policy. Despite the thousands of partisans who’ve walked its halls, the law school as an institution has remained nonpartisan, preserving its neutrality, and refusing to embrace an ideological or political identity.
Unfortunately, this long run of institutional neutrality seems headed for an abrupt end. Promotional materials for the law school now proclaim its institutional commitment to “progressive values” and “social justice.” Incoming students and faculty are told that, when it comes to the big issues of the day, the law school takes the “progressive” side.
The plan, in short, is to give the state-funded law school an “ideological brand.” (The Interim dean says it will help fundraising and student recruitment.) In 2014, the law faculty voted — over strong objection — to commit the institution to “social justice.” Now we’re at it again, seeking to brand ourselves “the nation’s first compassionate law school.”
These branding projects are misguided. For starters, the chosen brands are divisive, alienating about half the people in the country. While terms like “social justice” and “compassionate” might seem “inclusive” to you, tens of millions of Americans disagree. People hear these terms in a legal or political context and think “liberal orthodoxy.” . . .
Even those who benefit from our divisive brands (e.g., “progressive” faculty and students) can appreciate the costs to higher education. Universities function as a marketplace of ideas, where conventional ideas are tested, year in and year out, against unconventional ones. Ideological brands like “social justice” and “compassionate” obstruct this critical process. They do so by formally prioritizing liberal orthodoxy in an array of university matters (including research, hiring, and student scholarships).
Read the whole thing, and expect more of this kind of pushback. And more scrutiny from outside funders. Meanwhile, prospective students who aren’t full-tilt leftists should probably look elsewhere.