We have had a spate of stories in the higher-education press concerning the prospect that the Left might lose a bit of control over hiring, curriculum, and related matters.

A Chronicle of Higher Education reporter contacted George Mason University economics professor Bryan Caplan “on the politics” of his university. Caplan has posted portions of the discussion that didn’t make it into the reporter’s article.

At one point, Caplan comments on the faculty’s worry that hiring and tenure decisions are being made by, as the reporter puts it, “unqualified, politically-appointed” officials:

I served on the oversight committee for Tenure and Promotion for many years, so I can say with confidence that this is more paranoia. . . . The real story is that GMU’s standards for tenure, especially in politicized departments in the humanities and social sciences, are sadly low. Seriously, many people get tenure for publishing their dissertations . . . with a low-level university press, plus a few other articles in obscure journals. We are handing out tax-funded dream jobs for life. We need a lot MORE oversight to curtail this ongoing abuse.

All his comments are worth reading.