Viewpoint Diversity in Higher Education episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 27, 2025 · 56 MIN

Viewpoint Diversity in Higher Education

from SpeechMatters · host UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement

Politicians, professors and pundits all seem to be talking about viewpoint diversity, and questioning whether it is a robust part of college and university life. But what does viewpoint diversity mean and how do we evaluate if it is alive and well on campus? Jon Shields, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, shares his take on why having a diversity of views in the classroom serves democracy and offers ideas for fostering a climate of open inquiry and intellectual pluralism.Episode Resources:"Closed Classrooms? An Analysis of College Syllabi on Contentious Issues," Working Paper Draft, July 10, 2025, with Yuval Avnur and Stephanie Muravchik"Liberal Professors Can Rescue the GOP," New York Times, 23 March 2023“I’m a Conservative Professor Who Opposed Safe Spaces. I was Wrong.” New York Times, 7 April 2022

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 27, 2025

Politicians, professors and pundits all seem to be talking about viewpoint diversity, and questioning whether it is a robust part of college and university life. But what does viewpoint diversity mean and how do we evaluate if it is alive and well on campus? Jon Shields, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, shares his take on why having a diversity of views in the classroom serves democracy and offers ideas for fostering a climate of open inquiry and intellectual pluralism. Episode Resources: * "Closed Classrooms? An Analysis of College Syllabi on Contentious Issues, [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L6aUnf3HZPqOTJrP8ee-m2Szh-uyFKZA/view?pli=1]" Working Paper Draft, July 10, 2025, with Yuval Avnur and Stephanie Muravchik * "Liberal Professors Can Rescue the GOP [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/opinion/conservative-college-students.html]," New York Times, 23 March 2023 * "I'm a Conservative Professor Who Opposed Safe Spaces. I was Wrong. [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/opinion/conservative-safe-spaces-college.html]" New York Times, 7 April 2022

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Viewpoint Diversity in Higher Education

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Politicians, professors and pundits all seem to be talking about viewpoint diversity, and questioning whether it is a robust part of college and university life. But what does viewpoint diversity mean and how do we evaluate if it is alive and well...

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