Sex experts on faculties upset some at statehouse

Criticism is building against Georgia’s University System for employing faculty members who are academic experts in such areas as oral sex and male prostitution.

Friday, several days after Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton) said he was “personally outraged” over the issue, a second member of the state House echoed his criticism, drawing applause from some colleagues.

Also Friday, Jim Beck, president of the Georgia Christian Coalition, said he wants legislative committee hearings to sift through the facts. “We are concerned,” he said, “if the initial reports are true.”

The dust-up has raised questions about the role of higher education, the value of research and the importance of academic freedom. It also raises the possibility of a culture war in the General Assembly over Christian values and public policy.

University System officials defended the faculty members Friday. “Our mission is defined as teaching, research and public service,” said John Millsaps, a spokesman for the state’s Board of Regents. “That encompasses a broad range of interest and expertise.”

Millsaps said little public attention is given to faculty research in increasing crop yields or improving the shrimping industry. But, he said, “in some cases, researchers are providing information to people who are dealing with very controversial subjects.”

Hill singled out Georgia State University, which lists in its 2009 media experts guide faculty members who are knowledgeable about male prostitution and oral sex. The guide is used by reporters and public policy organizations to find experts in various fields. Hill said he was “personally outraged” that tax money supports such professors.

His concern was echoed on the floor of the House on Friday by Rep. Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock).

“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you have heard me right,” she said. “In this present economy, the taxpayers’ dollars are being used by the Board of Regents to inform students about such social topics. … I believe the timing is perfect to eliminate positions of professors and staff who are paid to provide such services.”

Donald Reitzes, chairman of Georgia State’s sociology department, said the critics are “misinformed” about the purpose and value of the research they are criticizing.

Kirk Elifson, who is listed as an expert on male prostitution, for example, began his study during the 1980s to examine the spread of AIDS, Reitzes said. Elifson was the lead author of a 1989 New England Journal of Medicine article on HIV among male prostitutes.

Elifson now is examining the factors that keep smokers hooked, Reitzes said.

Mindy Stombler, a senior lecturer at Georgia State for whom oral sex is listed as an area of academic expertise, said she is conducting a limited study on the societal messages that teenagers receive about oral sex. She looks at anything from news reports about the Monica Lewinsky scandal to the lyrics of popular rap music.

She said she expects the findings to be used in public health campaigns to help prevent the spread of diseases through oral sex.

Stombler said she had not had the chance to speak directly to legislators who question her research.

Christian Coalition President Beck said he hopes the education committees of both the House and Senate will hold hearings on the legislators’ concerns. “We want to create a safe space where both sides can sit down and be heard,” he said.

That could come soon. Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland), chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, had planned to have several Georgia State officials and instructors speak to his committee last week about the controversy. That meeting was canceled, but Harp said Friday that he hoped to reschedule soon.

Staff writer Christopher Quinn contributed to this article.