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LA Ute · 08-23-2005, 03:27 AM

I left the U. over 20 years ago but have stayed close. Here are a few thoughts:

1. First of all, it must be recognized that LDS and non-LDS people in Utah do a miserable job of getting along. That sounds critical, but it's not; to my mind, that's just the way it is. I'm not sure it is realistic to expect otherwise. There is just a lot of weirdness, fear, and loathing in Utah, all of it religion-driven. I am a 4th-generation Utahn and love the place, but I do not miss that aspect of living there.

2. I had an Insitute class at the U. from Gene England back in about 1978. He commented then about how he wanted to get on at the U.'s English Department, but they would not hire an LDS prof. So Gene was paying attention to that way back when. My own experience with the English Department (my minor field) was that it never discriminated against me because I was LDS, but it didn't exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy either. If it's true that they did not hire an active LDS prof for 50 years, that doesn't surprise me. For whatever that's worth.

3. The U. is an honest-to-goodness, highly-developed and well-respected state university, with all the liberal bias you would expect at such a place. (Again, not a criticism; that's just the way 99% of all universities are.) So staunch LDS folks, evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, and practicing charismatic Catholics, for example, are not going to find it to be a place where their views are embraced.

4. One fear that drives hiring action at the U. is that of being seen as "inbred." I saw this first-hand and still see it. Having too many U. grads on the faculty, or Utah natives on the faculty, looks bad. (At Harvard, apparently having a ton of Harvard grads on the faculty does not produce the same fear. :wink: ) Even BYU worries about this, at least when recruiting professors to the law school there.

5. I'm sure there is some ant-LDS bias at the U. How widespread is it? We'll never know, I guess. There are probably some pockets of pro-LDS bias (my brother in-law is a professor there, and would not have had the connection to the school he did without an LDS affiliation. Maybe it all evens out.

5. Mike: If you got a chance to visit the campus at Utah you would not use the term "podunk" to describe it.

08-23-2005, 03:27 AM	#15
LA Ute Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 118	Anti-LDS Bias at the U. of U. I left the U. over 20 years ago but have stayed close. Here are a few thoughts: 1. First of all, it must be recognized that LDS and non-LDS people in Utah do a miserable job of getting along. That sounds critical, but it's not; to my mind, that's just the way it is. I'm not sure it is realistic to expect otherwise. There is just a lot of weirdness, fear, and loathing in Utah, all of it religion-driven. I am a 4th-generation Utahn and love the place, but I do not miss that aspect of living there. 2. I had an Insitute class at the U. from Gene England back in about 1978. He commented then about how he wanted to get on at the U.'s English Department, but they would not hire an LDS prof. So Gene was paying attention to that way back when. My own experience with the English Department (my minor field) was that it never discriminated against me because I was LDS, but it didn't exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy either. If it's true that they did not hire an active LDS prof for 50 years, that doesn't surprise me. For whatever that's worth. 3. The U. is an honest-to-goodness, highly-developed and well-respected state university, with all the liberal bias you would expect at such a place. (Again, not a criticism; that's just the way 99% of all universities are.) So staunch LDS folks, evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, and practicing charismatic Catholics, for example, are not going to find it to be a place where their views are embraced. 4. One fear that drives hiring action at the U. is that of being seen as "inbred." I saw this first-hand and still see it. Having too many U. grads on the faculty, or Utah natives on the faculty, looks bad. (At Harvard, apparently having a ton of Harvard grads on the faculty does not produce the same fear. :wink: ) Even BYU worries about this, at least when recruiting professors to the law school there. 5. I'm sure there is some ant-LDS bias at the U. How widespread is it? We'll never know, I guess. There are probably some pockets of pro-LDS bias (my brother in-law is a professor there, and would not have had the connection to the school he did without an LDS affiliation. Maybe it all evens out. 5. Mike: If you got a chance to visit the campus at Utah you would not use the term "podunk" to describe it. __________________ "Always do right. It will annoy some people and surprise the rest." --Mark Twain