Excerpt from the WKSU
Universities across the country have faced scrutiny recently over a perceived liberal bias on campuses, ranging from issues related to the Israel-Hamas war to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Some lawmakers, like Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino, a Republican from Kirtland, see universities as places where students are immersed in liberal teachings without being exposed to other viewpoints.
That is why Cirino and fellow Republican Ohio Senator Rob McColley drafted Senate Bill 117, which was added to and passed in last year's state's operating budget. The bill led to the creation of intellectual diversity centers at five public universities: Ohio State University, Miami University, University of Toledo College of Law, Cleveland State University and Wright State University.
The centers are required to value intellectual diversity, educate students by means of rigorous intellectual inquiry, help students reach their own conclusions of legal, social and political matters and welcome differences of opinion. They will also aim to hire more conservative or libertarian faculty, though those choices are up to each individual director of the centers.
There has been criticism of the need for these centers, including by college professors, such as an Ohio State history professor who called the move quote, "state overreach," and a University of Cincinnati professor who said quote, "It's going to end up being a waste of resources."
The centers will operate independently of their universities.
