Letter: The hypocrisy of higher education

Recently, grad students and some faculty at Northwestern University spearheaded a revolt against the hiring of retired Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry.

Ostensibly, some professors felt he should be disqualified for not having a Ph.D. If you did a Google search on Eikenberry, you would learn that he graduated from West Point, and has advanced degrees from Harvard and Stanford. His experience, while serving our country, was extraordinary and would seem to offer some incredible insight into the “real” world that sadly escapes the faculty safely ensconced in the hallowed halls of academia at Northwestern.

The real loser in this instance is Northwestern and its student body. I feel certain that Eikenberry will have no trouble finding gainful employment in an atmosphere that appreciates the work of successful people.

The bigger issue here is the underlying reason for the faculty protest. Academia, for a couple of generations, has been stacked with folks who applaud research and theory while simultaneously diminishing the very system that affords them the opportunity to do so. Successful graduates provide donations that help perpetuate the institution that denigrates their financial achievement.

Universities, from coast to coast and from their ivory towers, cry out for diversity. Of course, they don’t actually mean diversity in thought. They want everyone in lock step with their far-left ideology and their students buying into the wonders of socialism.

If diversity of ethnicity is important, so too is diversity of ideas and thought. To deny that is pure, unadulterated hypocrisy.

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Letter: The hypocrisy of higher education."