The Claudine Gay Affair | American Enterprise Institute – AEI

Second, as Gay s defenders made all too clear, the left doesn t believe that Gay s critics actually care about plagiarism in obscure academic journals. They have a point. The right-wing muckrakers who helped bring Gay down have never previously shown much interest in the professional norms of scholarly citation. But that s not the issue. The reason those right-wingers went after Gay is because they saw the whole thing as proof that the left is wildly hypocritical about institutional standards, wielding them to protect friends and punish wrong-thinking enemies. The point is not whether the critics gunning for Gay are sincerely concerned about plagiarism and other academic norms; it s about whether Harvard and the powers-that-be in the academy were inclined to consistently and even-handedly apply their standards. It became all too clear that they weren t.

Third, and perhaps most interesting to me, is what Gay shows about how insular elite higher education has become. I mean, when she was named president, Harvard bragged Claudine consults widely; she listens attentively . . . she invites collaboration and resists complacency. Yet, through all her troubles, not a single right-leaning voice spoke up on Gay s behalf. Indeed, during the past month, I didn t talk to a single Republican on the Hill or around D.C. who had any kind of relationship with Gay. You might ask how Harvard s president could have so few relationships. Didn t Gay do any bridge-building? Well, here s what I know. A year ago, when she was named president, I sent a congratulatory note and invited her to come deliver a keynote at AEI, at a date of her choosing. I suggested it might be an opportunity to address the divide between elite higher ed and its conservative critics. And? We were casually blown off, without even a thanks for asking.

Higher ed doesn t have many friends on the right. In my experience, elite college leaders aren t all that bothered by this (some seem perversely proud of it). Well, when publicly-supported, highly visible institutions choose to take sides in political and cultural fights, there are consequences. With the right having lost faith in higher ed and becoming increasingly comfortable pushing back on the college cartel, campus leaders had better strap in for a bumpy ride.

via www.aei.org

Frederick Hess has some memories. Another lesson about how you should always reply to invitations. Not to do so is insulting. As Oscar Wilde reportedly said, a gentleman is one who never inflicts pain unintentionally.