Bill would require profs to disclose politics

Northern Iowan

NICOLE BAXTER, Staff WriterMarch 6, 2017Filed under News
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An Iowa bill requiring Regent universities to hire nearly equal numbers of Democratic and Republican professors has been referred to the Senate Education Committe on Capitol Hill in Des Moines. State Senator Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, introduced Senate File 288, which “prohibits such a university from hiring a person as a professor or instructor if the percentage of the faculty belonging to one political party would exceed by 10 percent the percentage of faculty belonging to the other political party.”
This proposal has been met with strong opposition by UNI faculty across campus. Joe Gorton, president of UNI United Faculty, called the proposal “un-American, unconstitutional and stupid.” Gorton labeled the bill fascist and in violation of the First Amendment.
“This is an attack against American democracy. It is an attempt to restrain people’s political ideas and identities,” Gorton said.
Many members of the faculty at UNI have called the bill unconstitutional, claiming that it is in clear violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”
Donna Hoffman, department head of political science, said the bill in question, if it were to become law, would infringe upon one’s right to association, of which political association is included.
“I’m under the understanding that right now they can hire people because of diversity,” Chelgren told the Des Moines Register on Feb. 20. “They want to have people of different thinking, different processes, different expertise […] so this would fall right into category with what existing hiring practices are.”
Chelgren did not return the NI’s requests for comment.
Associate professor of political science Christopher Larimer believes this requirement would undermine the hiring process significantly.
“You’re supposed to be bringing in faculty ...

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