Since the 1960s, Americans’ political tilt, as a whole, hasn’t changed that much. But, at colleges and universities, things have changed a lot: Professors have moved far to the left, becoming even more liberal than their students.
Sam Abrams, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College, calls the lack of ideological diversity in academia a disaster for higher education. And, he says schools must demand a better balance, or risk making certain students feel left out.
Three Takeaways:
- About 60 to 65 percent of professors are far left, compared to only 10 to 15 percent of the American public, according to Abrams.
- The trend of professors leaning left holds true in large public universities, private colleges and even religious schools (though not as intense), says Abrams.
- And while Abrams notes that it is certainly harder to find a right-leaning professor in certain parts of the country, it’s not the case that schools in the South or West have an abundance of conservative faculty: “They’re all left-leaning.”
More Reading:
- WGBH’s On Campus highlights efforts at Wellesley College to address the liberal bent.
- Boston Magazine examines how the proliferation of liberal professors could hurt higher learning.
- New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about the dangers of “liberal bubbles” on college campuses.
In an earlier version of this blog post, we wrote that only 10 to 15 percent of the American public leans left, according to Abrams. He actually said 10 to 15 percent of Americans see themselves as belonging to the far left.
