Lead contender for driest political humor of 2008 - remarks by an unnamed University of Colorado at Colorado Springs professor on a CU system survey of sentiment toward Bruce Benson, up for appointment as the University's next president:
"Bruce Benson does not share my views about sustainable development and academic freedom. I for one think he should be removed from consideration."
CU at Colo. Springs
Anyone else sense something amiss here? A university is, last time we checked, a place where differing views are to be welcomed and confronted head-on in an intellectually rigorous manner. There are certainly many issues surrounding "sustainable development" and just about every other challenge facing Colorado, for that matter, that intelligent people can disagree about.
For a university professor to use a perceived difference of opinion on an academic issue as reason to torpedo Benson's candidacy smacks of hypocrisy, especially when invoking "academic freedom" in doing so.
What kind of academic freedom does this professor stand for, when he or she clearly can't tolerate honest differences in thought?