What is Poly Politics?
Poly Politics reports the political party affiliation data of academic departments at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, SLO) and Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo. Also included is data reflecting the political party preference break-down of the top administrators at Cal Poly and Cuesta (President, Deans, Vice Presidents, et cetera).
The Cal Poly and Cuesta data can be found under the Partisan Split Data menu, and important discussions of the data and trends can be found on the blog.
Poly Politics exists to give interested individuals another perspective of dynamics on both of these campuses.
Additionally, an underlying principle/value guiding Poly Politics is the principle of viewpoint diversity. Much of my academic research (read more here) has involved studying political diversity and the consequences of a lack of political diversity, particularly within the academic context. It probably comes as no surprise to most that many/most universities are not politically diverse, and this is highly problematic (for a comprehensive discussion on this and related topics, visit www.heterodoxacademy.org). As the data show, there is not a whole lot of political diversity at Cal Poly (though it's a little better at Cuesta)--perhaps more than would be found at other universities, but there is still much room for improvement. When launched this site focused on Cal Poly primarily because that is where I completed my undergraduate education, in Fall 2017 was expended to include Cuesta College. I hope the data here may provide a more tangible foothold for thinking about the need for political diversity, and for conversations on this topic.
The "Poly" in Poly Politics originally was a reference to "Cal Poly" ... but as the site has been expanded to include Cuesta College, "Poly" is now defined in the more classic sense (i.e., multiple, many).
I hope the information on this site may be interesting and enlightening. Let the numbers speak for themselves!
The Cal Poly and Cuesta data can be found under the Partisan Split Data menu, and important discussions of the data and trends can be found on the blog.
Poly Politics exists to give interested individuals another perspective of dynamics on both of these campuses.
Additionally, an underlying principle/value guiding Poly Politics is the principle of viewpoint diversity. Much of my academic research (read more here) has involved studying political diversity and the consequences of a lack of political diversity, particularly within the academic context. It probably comes as no surprise to most that many/most universities are not politically diverse, and this is highly problematic (for a comprehensive discussion on this and related topics, visit www.heterodoxacademy.org). As the data show, there is not a whole lot of political diversity at Cal Poly (though it's a little better at Cuesta)--perhaps more than would be found at other universities, but there is still much room for improvement. When launched this site focused on Cal Poly primarily because that is where I completed my undergraduate education, in Fall 2017 was expended to include Cuesta College. I hope the data here may provide a more tangible foothold for thinking about the need for political diversity, and for conversations on this topic.
The "Poly" in Poly Politics originally was a reference to "Cal Poly" ... but as the site has been expanded to include Cuesta College, "Poly" is now defined in the more classic sense (i.e., multiple, many).
I hope the information on this site may be interesting and enlightening. Let the numbers speak for themselves!
Other Information
- Site launched in November, 2012
- Updates:
- Site updated to include Cuesta College October 2017
- Data updated September 2017
- Site format/design updated: September, 2017
- Data updated: August, 2013
- No participants were solicited in the acquisition of any data on this site. All data on this site has been acquired from publicly available sources such as the University Archives, County Elections office, and other similar sources. Department rosters were obtained from the appropriate department/division web-site and/or applicable database.
- In an effort to protect the privacy of individuals listed on this site, individual data is not and never will be published.
- Methods highly consistent with work conducted by Cardiff and Klein (2005).
Some disclaimers:
Poly Politics does not report individual data (e.g., Professor XYZ is a ____) in an effort to reduce the possibility of political prejudice/discrimination. While many forms of discrimination are looked down upon (e.g., religious or ethnic discrimination), discrimination against individuals because of their political beliefs is still quite rampant and often encouraged, particularly within university environments (for information related to research on this, contact me, or check out the links in the introduction paragraphs). I seek no role in enabling or encouraging this behavior.
Further, it should be noted that pursuant to the California Election Code, should a person obtain and use voter registration information for the "harassment of a voter or voter's household," that person would be subject to criminal charges and/or fines.
In previous years, Poly Politics included in its reports data on a wider segment of Cal Poly, which included many more administrators, staff, employees of ASI and the Cal Poly Corporation, and others. While this data is interesting, the current version of the site now only focuses on faculty and top administrators in an effort to streamline information, and focus on that which viewers/visitors to the site are typically most interested in. Poly Politics also formerly reported limited data related to salaries, but now only includes information and links to these resources, and encourages those who may be interested to look into this for themselves.
Poly Politics does not report individual data (e.g., Professor XYZ is a ____) in an effort to reduce the possibility of political prejudice/discrimination. While many forms of discrimination are looked down upon (e.g., religious or ethnic discrimination), discrimination against individuals because of their political beliefs is still quite rampant and often encouraged, particularly within university environments (for information related to research on this, contact me, or check out the links in the introduction paragraphs). I seek no role in enabling or encouraging this behavior.
Further, it should be noted that pursuant to the California Election Code, should a person obtain and use voter registration information for the "harassment of a voter or voter's household," that person would be subject to criminal charges and/or fines.
In previous years, Poly Politics included in its reports data on a wider segment of Cal Poly, which included many more administrators, staff, employees of ASI and the Cal Poly Corporation, and others. While this data is interesting, the current version of the site now only focuses on faculty and top administrators in an effort to streamline information, and focus on that which viewers/visitors to the site are typically most interested in. Poly Politics also formerly reported limited data related to salaries, but now only includes information and links to these resources, and encourages those who may be interested to look into this for themselves.
Read more and participate in the discussion on the Blog page.