Face The State Staff Report
State Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, is less than thrilled about the University of Colorado’s plan to raise $9 million for an endowed chair of conservative thought and policy.
ShafferState of Colo.
CU physics Professor John Price was the first to inform Shaffer, in December, of CU’s intent to create the position. In an e-mail exchange obtained by Face The State through an open-records request, Shaffer says of the proposal, “I have circulated it among some of my colleagues in the Senate and there is a general feeling that this doesn’t belong at CU.”
Shaffer said he intended to meet with David Skaggs, head of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, to discuss the matter.
News of Shaffer's opposition to the endowed chair doesn't surprise CU Regent Tom Lucero, R-Johnstown, who represents the state's 4th congressional district. "It speaks to a culture on campus as well as down at the capitol," he said.
Price says that he contacted Shaffer because he is “concerned about maintaining intellectual openness,” at the university.
“The appointment has to be based on scholarship, “ said Price. “You can't make their political views a condition."
The proposal, promoted by Boulder campus Chancellor Bud Peterson, has drawn national attention, including a cover story in the Wall Street Journal. Some conservative leaders believe that the new position is an important first step to bringing balance to an academic environment currently dominated by liberal instructors in Boulder, with others, including Rocky Mountain News editorial page editor Vincent Carroll, in a column titled "$9 Million Token?," questioned the viability of the new position.
"Efforts by state legislators to stifle one political philosophy [are] merely a symptom of the overall imbalance in our state government," said Katie Witt, the Republican candidate challenging Shaffer this November.
Shaffer refused comment, saying he prefers the Senate majority communications office to speak for him. He also declined to say which of his Senate colleagues he spoke to in reaching his "consensus." Calls and e-mails by Face The State to Democrat caucus spokesperson Ben Marter went unreturned.
“You would hope that individuals want academic freedom and would be advocates and proponents of intellectual diversity,” Lucero said.