Occidental College in Los Angeles is facing allegations of ideological bias after deciding not to renew the contract of an economics professor with conservative views.
Daron Dzerjian has been teaching a variety of economics classes at Occidental College (commonly known as “Oxy”) since 2010, and his classes have been well-received by students online, economist Mark Skousen writes in a new op-ed. The Wall Street Journal.
Skousen said: Academic Institutions The campaign, which Professor Gerjian launched in June, announced that Occidental University had not renewed his non-tenured contract for this academic year, despite him being the university’s “only free-market professor.”
The private liberal arts college, which has produced many notable alumni including former President Barack Obama, touts its commitment to diversity and equity. Mission StatementSkousen questioned whether the university was “living those values” by firing a conservative professor.
“Occidental College, Los Angeles’ only small liberal arts college, talks a lot about diversity, equity, and inclusion, yet doesn’t seem committed to living those values,” he continued in the op-ed. “Late last year, the economics department chose not to renew the contract of a tenured professor whose liberal and conservative views run counter to public opinion. So much for the college’s commitment to diversity of political views.”
Students and faculty criticized the university for not renewing the contract of an economics professor who advocates both conservative and libertarian views. (Isabella Habur)
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Students and faculty members were also reportedly disappointed with the university’s actions.
According to a university newspaper report in February, after news spread on campus that his contract would not be renewed, about 400 students and alumni signed an email petition asking the school to keep him employed.
“This will be a great loss to his students, past, present and future, and to the marketplace of ideas at Occidental College and around the world,” the students said. Reportedly In the petition.
Students who helped organize the petition said the professor holds more conservative views than other economics professors on campus and they were pleased to have a wider range of perspectives in the field.
“There’s no other professor who teaches free market economics,” said Raina Singh, a junior whose supervisor was Gerjian.
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Occidental College denied that it made decisions in favor of faculty dissenters based on political affiliation. (iStock)
Two full-time faculty members who spoke to Skousen anonymously also defended the former Oxy professor.
One teacher said Geljian’s firing was “politically motivated.”
Another student defended the school’s right to not renew the contract but said the decision would harm Oxy High School students because they would “no longer be exposed to an exciting and valuable, entirely different, free-market perspective.”
Skousen argued that the university’s economics department, which once valued diversity of thought, has changed in recent years.
“The economics department is now staffed mostly by University of California graduates who favor fair trade over free trade, market failure over government failure, and are more likely to quote Keynesian Joseph Stiglitz than Milton Friedman,” he wrote. “Sadly, political diversity is disappearing at Oxy, being replaced by a less tolerant wokeism.”
Dzerjian did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
A spokesperson for Occidental College released the following statement:
“Occidental College values political and other diversity in its pursuit of academic excellence and debate, and the Department of Economics is committed to ensuring students are exposed to diverse perspectives in the curriculum. The College does not comment on individual personnel matters. The College makes decisions regarding faculty appointments based on curricular needs, student demand, and other relevant criteria, without regard to political or other affiliations. Because these academic factors change from year to year, appointments of non-tenure-track faculty are subject to change over time. Non-tenure-track faculty are generally eligible for reappointment where curricular need exists.”
