The Philosophers' Cocoon

A safe and supportive forum for philosophers.

Owned & Moderated by Marcus Arvan (University of Tampa)

Contact: marvan@ut.edu

Blog mission & moderation policy

IMPORTANT NOTE on how to ensure anonymity in commenting
Job-Market Reporting Thread (2025-26)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2025-26)

recent posts

about

Reputational effects of a university’s social/political/theological leanings?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

If you accept a position at a school that, for political, social, or theological reasons, has a reputation for being a certain way, does the stench of their leanings follow you for the rest of your career, if you were to eventually apply elsewhere? Would people assume that you shared their leanings?

These are interesting questions, and I'm curious to hear from readers.

On the one hand, I suspect that there is probably a natural tendency to associate a candidate with the kind of places they've worked at. For example, in his recent post on his five years on the job-market, Jeremy Davis (University of Georgia) notes that once he was hired into non-TT jobs at a military college, most of his interviews were at other military institutions.

On the other hand, I also suspect that the nature of one's work can probably outweigh such associations. For example, if someone looking at your CV and research statement finds that your publications and research program don't really fall in line with the leanings of the institution you worked out, they might very well infer that you probably don't share the place's leanings.

But all of this is really just speculation on my part. It would be great to hear from search committee members, as well as from people who have worked for a time at places whose social/political/theological leanings they didn't exactly share. What evidence is there (one way or another) that an institution's leanings will "follow a job candidate around"?

Posted in

5 responses to “Reputational effects of a university’s social/political/theological leanings?”

  1. an anon

    It’s worth noting that many of the more conservative religious schools require faculty to align with their theological and moral views, often up to the point of signing a statement to that effect. So it would seem natural to have a (rebuttable) assumption that someone who had taught at such a school either shared those views or was dishonest in accepting that job.

    Reply
  2. early C

    I took a fixed term job at a religious institution, but was never asked to pledge allegiance to the creed or anything like that. But like the OP I’ve had this worry, and if people think like “an anon” then I’m really worried. Because I do not identify with my institution. Rather, the job market is awful and I wanted a job, and all this time I’ve assumed when I apply for other jobs committee members would operate in good faith, rather than bad faith, and not make any silly assumptions in this market about a person’s beliefs and commitments based on the institution they work at. It is hard enough to get a job—now you’re telling me people are making assumptions about us they shouldn’t make? (Of course you might be less than fully honest—you want a job!!!)

    Reply
  3. an anon

    I’m not sure that “Someone who said ‘I believe X’ either believes X, was being dishonest, or has changed their mind (hence the rebuttability of the assumption)” is all that silly. Of course that’s not actually required at all religious institutions. But it is at a fair number. And it’s not hard to find out if someone’s former employer is such a place. Of course I don’t think hiring committees should be looking for indications of an applicants’ political/religious/whatever views, and I certainly didn’t when I served on such a committee. I’m just describing what seems like a pretty decent available inference.
    (I don’t expect that a hiring committee would shrug at an indication that an applicant is willing to be dishonest to get a job.)

    Reply
  4. Karl

    Having taught at an Orthodox Jewish College, a Catholic college, and a public college, I don’t recall ever feeling judged, though it is hard to know what search committees thought. I think it is well enough known that all sorts teach at Catholic colleges, and Jewish ones for that matter. I would worry if you taught at an institution like Hilsdale or Liberty that people might make some unfavorable assumptions about your political views. (You might consider in that case explaining in your cover letter that you are leaving because you don’t share the school’s views.)

    Reply
  5. Catholic faculty member at a Catholic university

    It is worth noting that at the vast majority of Catholic universities, most (and not infrequently all) faculty members are not Catholic. In fact, as a practicing Catholic working at a Catholic institution I’ve found it to be wise not to really talk about my Catholicism. Most people who aren’t religious probably don’t care, but as someone who is religious, I’ve found this quite troubling. All that is to say, one shouldn’t assume that someone coming from a Catholic university is Catholic or even religious.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to an anonCancel reply

Discover more from The Philosophers' Cocoon

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading