I learned today from The Washington Post that two professors have quit the University of Virginia's Miller Center in protest against the hiring of former Trump administration official Marc Short to teach about the Presidency.
It seemed this presents an opportunity to call the bluff of self-described "nonpartisan" academics by asking to fill one of the two now-empty slots, in order to add some more political diversity to the faculty and fellows... since I'm pretty sure the number of pro-Trump professors on staff is pretty low right now. After all, even President Bushes 41 & 43 all but endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and kept bashing Trump after Election Day.
So, I went to the Miller Center website, and sent them a letter on their contact form:
Dear Miller Center,
I see from the press that 2 faculty members have resigned from your nonpartisan Institute because of the Mark Short appointment. I guess that creates two openings for pro-Trump scholars to further balance your faculty, so I’d like to apply. Here is a link to my 2017 documentary on Pres. Trump: https://thetrumpeffectmovie.blogspot.com.
I have a Ph.D., M.F.A., taught at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School for 15 years, was a Fulbright Scholar at UWED in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, an ACCELS visiting professor at RGGU in Moscow, Russia, a Bradley Scholar at the Heritage Foundation, regional finalist for the White House Fellowship, president of THIS for Diplomats, on the board of the Voltaire Society of America & Arts Club of Washington, producer-director of “Who Shall Live and Who’s Shall Die?”, author or editor of a number of books and articles including “PBS: Behind the Screen,” “Masterpiece Theater and the Politics of Quality,” “The National Endowments: A Critical Symposium,” and currently teach at UMUC.
My cell phone is xxx-xxx-xxxx if you have any questions.
I look forward to the opportunity to add more intellectual diversity to the Miller Center, and hope to hear from you soon in this regard.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,I don't expect to receive a job, or even an answer, just wanted to put on record that any shortage of pro-Trump faculty is most probably not a bug but a feature at the University of Virginia, as well as that any imbalance in the faculty more likely by design than by accident...ironic, since Trump Winery is just down the road from campus, and one might think the UVA might want to add President Trump to Jefferson and Monroe as local heroes for their Center for the Study of the Presidency.
Laurence A. Jarvik, Ph.D.