Five Rules for Conservative Faculty in a Liberal Academy

The day after Donald Trump’s surprising 2016 victory, I sat in a committee meeting. The chair began somberly: “I know we are all very upset about what happened yesterday…” I, for one, was not. While not a fervent Trump supporter, that election brought Republican victories down the ticket in every major office in my state. I was pleased, though the chair might be forgiven for missing that—conservatives on college campuses are rare. In a recent survey of 633 faculty members at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, just 9% indicated they were “some form of conservative,” while 70% were “some form of liberal.”

Ideological capture in some departments or disciplines creates a self-perpetuating problem. It drives conservatives into hiding, discourages young conservatives from entering the field, and fosters a perception of leftwing groupthink that undermines trust in higher education, especially among conservatives. The end result is weaker universities with less ideological diversity.

It’s time for conservative faculty to stop “keeping their heads down until tenure.” Universities need bold, excellent conservative scholars—not undercover ones—to strengthen their institutions. Having worked at a free-market think tank before academia, my sympathies were clear. Yet as the only openly right-wing faculty member in my college, I earned tenure, served as program director, and became department chair. Here is my advice.

Follow the Roadhouse rules—Be Nice

In Road House (the original, not the terrible remake), the inimitable Patrick Swayze tells his bouncers, “I want you to be nice, until it’s time to not be nice.” Great advice for everyone, but especially conservative faculty. As a free-market conservative in a college of education, few colleagues agreed with me on anything—from school finance to school choice. Yet disagreeing doesn’t mean being disagreeable. One of the best compliments I ever received came from a veteran colleague: “I disagree with just about everything you say, but I really enjoy working with you.” That’s the reputation you want.

Pick Your Battles

The time may come when it is “time to not be nice,” but until then keep your powder dry. You don’t need to contest every issue. Once, a far-left colleague stalled program changes in a curriculum committee meeting for an hour. In the end, the changes passed unanimously, and her obstruction only frustrated everyone. Don’t be that colleague. If you make a mountain out of every molehill, people won’t listen when it really matters. Later, when I worked with a legislator to seek a ban of DEI hiring mandates, the university administration ultimately heeded my concerns. They took the time to meet with me and listened as I explained the problem. Had I been known as a constant troublemaker, I doubt they would have given my arguments as much credence.

Do Good Work

The great thing about academia is that expectations for success are typically clear: publication is the coin of the realm. Publishing often, and in top journals, can make you almost undeniable for tenure and promotion. Many departments spell out exactly how many publications are needed. Hit or exceed those targets. For conservatives, this can be harder in some disciplines. If your research challenges accepted paradigms, placing papers may be difficult. Sometimes that cannot be helped, but often there are paths: go elsewhere, call out bias, or reframe the issue.

If a journal is particularly hostile, submit elsewhere without delay. If a reviewer is particularly biased, call it out. Once, a reviewer criticized my citations of conservative scholars without questioning my methods. I noted the bias in my R&R, refused the suggested revisions, and the paper was accepted. Another time, a reviewer criticized my conclusions and suggested revisions that would have completely changed the whole point of my piece. I refused and suggested to the editor he publish my piece and offer the reviewer an opportunity to write a response piece. Again, my paper was published and, better yet, upon publication it already had one citation!

Finally, reframe the issue. In my research on teacher pensions, arguments about unfunded liabilities fell flat with colleagues. So, I used language they understood. I demonstrated that defined-benefit pension plans that use a short time span at the end of a teacher’s career to determine pension benefits are inequitable as are state subsidies for pension payments. Framing can make all the difference.

Use Service Strategically

Junior faculty are often shielded from onerous service responsibilities and for good reason. Committees can be an incredible time suck and universities have no shortage of them. One of my favorites was the faculty senate’s “committee on committees,” which decided who served on other committees. While it is wise to be judicious about service, don’t skip service entirely. Look for opportunities that double as networking. Join committees that connect you with colleagues at your institution and in your field. From graduate school through my early assistant professorship, I volunteered at a leading education policy conference. Just a week a year, it let me meet senior scholars and peers at other institutions. Done well, service can advance both your influence and your career.

Network and Have Options

Following my advice may require risk and boldness. The greatest boost to courage is a network of colleagues you can rely on. Start networking in graduate school. If you are out of graduate school, begin networking now. Get to know people in your field and make your name known. At conferences, for example, I organized panels, reaching out to well-regarded scholars to participate. They appreciated that I took on the onus of the conference submission and I was able to be on panels with terrific scholars. A strong network opens professional opportunities and strengthens your tenure case. External letters can make or break a case. I’ve seen firsthand external letters be the deciding factor on a tenure vote.

But don’t just network among academics. Get to know the players in your state. Most states have free-market think tanks or other organizations seeking to influence policy. Get connected to those organizations that align with your views. While these connections will rarely help you in academia, they can lead to contracts, grants, appointments on commissions, and the like. Twice I was appointed by the President Pro Tem of the state Senate to serve on committees, which counted as service.

Moreover, a network both in and out of higher education provides alternatives. Fear of losing a job with no alternatives keeps many conservatives hidden. With the connections I cultivated, I knew I had options.

The academic life is amazing, and it is a privilege to hold such an office, but you should not hide who you are or what you believe to remain in that position. The great C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Lewis, of course, was a Christian suggesting that we are not meant for this world, but a similar thing applies here. If you find that you are at an institution that is completely hostile to who you are and to your scholarship, it may be the case that you were meant for another place.

James V. Shuls, Ph.D., is the Head of the Education Liberty branch of the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University