Dr. Dan Papp for Chancellor

Rumor has it that KSU President Dan Papp was a shoo-in for Chancellor of the University of Georgia System until the recent brouhaha over illegal immigration at the university. It is said that this event made him radioactive and removed his name from consideration.
If this is true, it is an injustice of the first magnitude. Indeed, it is a potential tragedy for the future of higher education in Georgia. I, for one, can think of no one better qualified to lead the state toward a world-class array of colleges and universities.
First, Dr. Papp has been a breath of fresh air at Kennesaw State University. His intelligence, political skill, and moral principles have produced an atmosphere that is remarkably conducive to learning. He has set an example for faculty, staff, and students, the emulation of which is bearing fruit for all concerned.
Second, President Papp’s handling of the immigration matter was exemplary. No doubt some of those distressed by the prevalence of illegal immigration perceived KSU’s mini-scandal as a tool for advancing their cause. While I am sympathetic with their goal, giving the university over to a witch-hunt would have served little good—particularly for the school.
Third, universities are liberal places. Faculty members, especially in the humanities and social sciences, are overwhelmingly left of center in their politics. So are a significant proportion of students—even here in the South. This circumstance was not created by Dr. Papp, but is something with which he must contend.
Lest it be forgotten, universities are hothouses of idealism. Those who teach within their precincts have rightly been accused of residing in ivory towers. Often themselves lifelong students, they are frequently detached from the realities of everyday life. As such, they habitually advocate social solutions that were they implemented would make things worse.
Even so, academic idealism serves all of our interests. As a conservative academic who has regularly been victimized by this tendency, I must nonetheless step forward to defend it. The freedom to think silly thoughts sometimes generates arrant nonsense, yet is also productive of intellectual breakthroughs.
As to student idealism, it is a part of the growing up process. The young are often burdened by the errors of their elders and wish to see these corrected. Unfortunately their lack of experience tends to lead them astray. Unfamiliar with the complexities of the adult world, they naturally gravitate toward attractive simplifications.
This too is a negative side effect of higher education, but one that has long-term benefits. Youthful idealism, were it to guide our political choices, would be disastrous. Were it reflexively implemented, it might even encourage totalitarian regimes. And yet, in the hands of the young it is merely a way station on the road to maturity.
Which brings me back to Dr. Papp. Unlike the atmosphere at many universities, that at KSU is what others only claim. The university really does maintain an open marketplace of ideas. It allows competing ideas to flourish without any being squelched by administratively enforced political correctness.
The participants, that is, the professors and the students, can sometimes be vociferously intolerant, but the university itself is not. This should not be unusual, yet in the contemporary scene frequently is. Dr. Papp ought to be commended for resisting pressures to allow this to happen, not castigated as an enemy of good government.
This said, the downside of President Papp becoming Chancellor Papp is that he would be lost to our university. Under his tutelage, we have gone from being a good regional university to knocking on the door of becoming a great one. This is a remarkable achievement in the few short years he has been at our helm.
Georgia deserves a great university system. As a potentially great state, it can only benefit from a well-educated population. I can think of no one better than Dan Papp to shepherd us in this direction.
Melvyn L. Fein. Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University