I can only laugh

Just saw this via Lucianne.com:

"Naming U. of C. research center after Nobel Prize winner has faculty split".

In a letter to U. of C. President Robert Zimmer, 101 professors—about 8 percent of the university's full-time faculty—said they feared that having a center named after the conservative, free-market economist [Milton Friedman] could "reinforce among the public a perception that the university's faculty lacks intellectual and ideological diversity."

I wholeheartedly agree with Columbia economics professor Jagdish Bhagwati:

"It is nonsensical to object. . . . Chicago should be proud it has someone like Milton on its rolls," he said. "Anybody who can claim that Milton was not one of the major thinkers of his time is crazy."

Comments

[Mace]

I think it's the public's perception that the vast majority of universities lack the OTHER kind of diversity - conservative faculty.

[Brian]

Seems like a variant of the "if you don't agree with us, then you're close minded" argument.

[UC grad]

The U of C is a very strange place. Some faculty are conservative, some are liberal, and others populate a variety of other spots on the spectrum. Very strange. Kind of like the real world.

[JorgXMcKie]

Kind of funny, given the general Liberal/Progressive attitude of "Holier-Than-Thou" about diversity, isn't it?