University of Colorado at Boulder is nestled in a region nicknamed the “People’s Republic of Boulder” and known for staunchly supporting left-leaning policies and causes – yet a three-year Conservative Thought and Policy Program launched at the school has been so successful it’s been extended for at least another year, with leaders saying they hope to make it a permanent fixture on campus.
“We had always hoped to be able to extend the program indefinitely, and it has been such a success that it was an easy decision to keep it going,” advisory committee chairman Dr. Robert Pasnau said in an interview with The College Fix.
Classes the Visiting Scholars’ have taught have been popular with students, and guest lectures the scholars have hosted added rigorous debate within the campus community, so much so that even left-leaning professors have enjoyed hosting the program, those involved with it told The College Fix in interviews.
“We hope to expand the program going forward, by bringing in a larger roster of visiting scholars, reflecting a wider range of viewpoints from conservative to liberal,” said Pasnau, who is also a philosophy professor at the school.
The three-year pilot program began in 2013, and it continues to be supported by private funds. A Visiting Scholar is appointed to a one-year teaching post.
The program seeks to appoint “highly visible scholars who are deeply engaged in either the analytical scholarship or practice of conservative thinking and policymaking or both.”
Dr. Francis Beckwith, the fourth Visiting Scholar, is a professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University. He is scheduled to teach philosophy classes this fall on the topics of Thomas Aquinas and “Philosophy and Society,” the department stated.
