Diversity, diversity, diversity. That is the word of the day at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Only now it includes ideological diversity: The school is pushing to attract more conservative viewpoints on campus.
Alexandra Martinez, the assistant dean of enrollment services at the Kennedy School, told The Daily Caller that the move was spearheaded by students themselves.
“We’re very committed to having a diversity of ideas in our student body, and some of our students, several years ago, felt that the conservative viewpoint was not as well represented in the classroom,” she told TheDC. “So some of the students volunteered to partner with us to try to encourage other students with more conservative views to apply to the Kennedy school.”
In an attempt to fulfill that goal, the grad school hosts recruitment meetings in Washington, D.C., targeting Republicans and other conservatives. This month it will host another “GOP Recruiting Reception” on Capitol Hill.
“To put it very simply, as you can very well assume, we are a nonpartisan institution. So this is just in line with trying to fulfill our goals of a diverse student body,” Martinez added. “And we also concentrate on those underrepresented groups, whether it be geographic or sexual orientation, whatever the case may be, we focus on trying to reflect the profile of the country.”
Martinez said there has not been a need to recruit specifically from the Democratic side of the aisle, since that ideological group is well represented at Harvard.
This is not an unusual move for the institution with a reputation for liberalism. During Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearing, it was reported that as dean of Harvard Law School from 2003 to 2009 she worked to bring more conservatives to campus. This effort to “reach across the aisle” earned her the support and respect of many on the ideological right.
“The most important priority for the school is to have the most diverse student body that we can,” Martinez explained. “We’re interested in having the student body be as diverse as possible to enrich the student experience.”