For the past half century, universities and professional schools have been on a quest for the academic analog of the Holy Grail—a diverse faculty. In this article, I distinguish two types of diversity: social group diversity and viewpoint diversity, examine the argument made by the advocates of faculty social group diversity, and conclude that it is a strong prima facie argument for not only faculty social group diversity, but faculty viewpoint diversity as well. I then examine the method universities and professional schools currently employ to increase social group diversity, show that there exists a superior method that, in theory, could cheaply and equitably produce the desired diversity in a single year, and explain why, at present, this method cannot be put into practice. I also examine what is required to attain faculty viewpoint diversity and show that, unlike social group diversity, faculty viewpoint diversity could be quickly achieved at relatively low cost. I conclude by suggesting that universities and professional schools are most likely to realize the benefits of faculty diversity by redirecting their efforts toward making the theoretically superior method of attaining faculty social group diversity practicable while, simultaneously, actively pursuing faculty viewpoint diversity. In doing so, I offer my analog of a map to the Holy Grail.
The Quest for a Diverse Faculty: Theory and Practice
The Quest for a Diverse Faculty: Theory and Practice
Recent Publications
- Common Law Liberalism: A New Theory of the Libertarian Society (Oxford University Press, 2024)
- “Diversity and Group Performance,” Encyclopedia of Diversity, Springer, 2024
- “Evading and Aiding: The Moral Case Against Paying Taxes,” with Christopher Freiman and Jessica Flanigan, Extreme Philosophy, ed. Stephen Hetherington, Routledge (2024)
- “Online Sports Betting Giants Place Their Bets Against Growing Rivals”
- “Liberal Tolerance for an Illiberal, Intolerant Age”
Recent News
- Advocacy group concerned pay-for-plasma clinics expanding to Ontario will hurt voluntary donations
- Jason Brennan and Hélène Landemore, Debating Democracy (University of Zurich’s UBS Center, 2024)
- Jason Brennan “Everything Wrong with Democracy” on the Alex O’Connor Podcast (January 28, 2024)
- On the affirmative action ruling, the Supreme Court got it half right
- Jaworksi on CHQR: Commercial-compensated plasma collections