Shepherd disagreed with the premise that universities should hire on the basis of ideology. She said that groups such as Students for Academic Freedom and Campuswatch.org have become "virtual vigilantes" who report professors they argue have a liberal bias. "The fight is for the control of information," rather than vigorous debate about knowledge itself, she argued. Universities, she said, "must be havens for free thought and expression," especially at a time when "truth has been replaced by spin." To try to "balance" a faculty on the basis of political point of view undermines the missions of universities to seek the truth, she said.

"Third and fourth points of view" should be presented to students, said Utah filmmaker Steven Greenstreet, whose documentary "This Divided State" looks at the row that erupted at Utah Valley State College last fall when student leaders invited "Fahrenheit 911" filmmaker Michael Moore to campus.

"The most important speech to allow is the speech you hate the most," Greenstreet said.

He noted that UVSC's solution to the flap over Moore's visit was to bring in conservative radio talk show host Sean Hannity. A better example of discourse, Greenstreet said, occurred when students, parents and townspeople came together in a spirited debate about the issue. The act of really listening to those you disagree with would help de-polarize the country, he said.

University of Utah President Michael Young and Weber State University President F. Ann Millner served as respondents on the panel. Young agreed that the greatest danger universities face is a "dismissiveness" of certain points of view. Millner noted that universities need to provide opportunities to interact with people of diverse viewpoints.

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E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com