Paul S. Levy - University Boardrooms Need Reform
Writer Paul S. Levy resigned from serving as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania over Pen Law's treatment of law professor Amy Wax. He received no support. Levy writes: Nobody in the university community has an incentive to speak out, and everyone seems afraid to do so. Professors fear retaliation; students worry about social ostracism...
Trustees and donors candidly admit in private that they do not want to jeopardize their children's chances for admission... There's no incentive to rock the boat, and universities make sure they don't get much opportunity. At the trustee level, the board is large and its formal meetings are entirely show and tell, with discussion severely limited and vote outcomes never in doubt. Penn Law overseers do not vote on anything.
Levy's conclusion: "When universities violate their values, trustees and overseers should resign, and donors should close their wallets. Until that happens, nothing will change.
Me: Until students, professors and trustees develop a spine and convictions that overcome their self-regard for reputation and well being, universities will remain in the lamentable P.C. condition in which they currently wallow, a disgrace to founding documents and historic principles of intellectual debate.