[MetaSTEM] First MetaSTEM speaker of the year this Thursday: Kris Gulati on political bias in academia

[Tyler Marghetis]

PS Christian is once again offering a catered lunch! Come for the
sandwiches, stay for the intellectual vitality! Thanks, Christian!

-T
-- 
Tyler Marghetis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Cognitive & Information Sciences
University of California, Merced
www.tylermarghetis.com
tyler.marghetis at gmail.com | +1.619.252.7798
I use the pronouns: he, him, his
I have moderate face-blindness <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia>;
if you see me out of context, I may not recognize you


On Tue, Sep 23, 2025 at 12:33 PM Tyler Marghetis <tyler.marghetis at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear MetaSTEM community,
>
> Our first MetaSTEM event is this Thursday, September 25. This semester
> we'll meet at *12:30-1:30pm in SSM 230* (same room as past years).
>
> We'll hear from Kris Gulati (EBM) on political bias in academia. Title and
> abstract below.
>
> See you there!
> Tyler and Christian, MetaSTEM Maestros
> --
>
> Title: Does Politics Permeate Academia? Evidence from a Field Experiment
> on Political Bias in Academic Opportunity
>
> Abstract: Higher education in the United States is undergoing a period of
> turbulence, facing mounting scrutiny over the politicisation of academia,
> declining public trust in universities, and unprecedented changes to the
> academic funding landscape under the recent Trump administration. Against
> this backdrop, we ask whether political identity shapes access to academic
> opportunity. To answer this, we conducted three large-scale field
> experiments involving more than 8,500 faculty across STEM, the social
> sciences, and the humanities. Faculty received randomised inquiries from
> fictitious prospective PhD students that varied only in their political
> cues. In STEM, political identity had no measurable effect on faculty
> responses. In the humanities and social sciences, however, applicants
> signaling conservative leanings were significantly less likely to receive
> replies than otherwise identical liberal counterparts. These results
> provide causal evidence that ideological gatekeeping can constrain entry
> into certain academic fields, which has implications for the rate and
> direction of academic research, the credibility and political neutrality of
> higher education, and the design of science policy and funding.
>
> --
> Tyler Marghetis, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor, Cognitive & Information Sciences
> University of California, Merced
> www.tylermarghetis.com
> tyler.marghetis at gmail.com | +1.619.252.7798
> I use the pronouns: he, him, his
> I have moderate face-blindness
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia>; if you see me out of
> context, I may not recognize you
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 21, 2025 at 11:26 AM Christian Fons Rosen <
> cfons-rosen at ucmerced.edu> wrote:
>
>> Dear MetaSTEM community,
>>
>> We had you had a good summer and look forward to join our monthly seminar
>> again.
>>
>> This term the seminar will be on Thursdays from *12.30pm to 1.30pm* and
>> lunch will be provided as usual.
>>
>> The seminar will take place in the usual room at SSM and the chosen dates
>> are:
>>
>> Thursday, Sept 25th
>>
>> Thursday, Oct 23rd
>>
>> Thursday, Nov 20th
>>
>> At the moment, all three slots are free so please email Tyler and I if
>> you have work related to the Science of Science that you would like to
>> present.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Christian and Tyler
>>
>> P.s. If someone wants to be removed from the mailing list or if you know
>> of someone who is interested in joining the group, please let me know.
>>
>>
>>
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