Ralph M Perhac: Not a random ratio

Regarding the Aug. 23 Point of View “Berger’s right: Most UNC professors are Democrats. Here’s why”: That Democrats outnumber Republicans(12:1) among UNC faculty is not a result of discrimination during hiring, according to Professor William Snider. He knows of no cases when the political leaning of a candidate arises during the interview/application process. He avers that one reason for the imbalance is a result of the “anti-science attitude adopted” by many Republicans.

Even if many Republicans are anti-science, why should that apply to an individual applying for a UNC position? And if, as he states, political questions do not arise during an interview, how do the interviewers know that a candidature is a Republican or if the candidate is anti-science? Obviously candidates are being asked about party affiliation or scientific attitude or else the interviewers are making some unsupported assumptions. It seems apparent that some level of bias is operative. A 12-1 distribution does not occur by random chance.

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Ralph M Perhac: Not a random ratio."