Professors at American universities lean overwhelmingly to the left politically, and faculty tend to be even more liberal at elite institutions like Georgetown, according to a prominent survey published last month.
Seventy-two percent of college professors surveyed described themselves as liberal in the report, published in the March issue of “The Forum,” an online political science journal. Only 15 percent were self-described conservatives.
The numbers were only slightly less drastic when it came to party lines, with 50 percent of faculty surveyed identifying themselves as Democrats and only 11 percent identifying themselves as Republicans.
“Liberals predominate in virtually all [academic] fields, but they are almost unanimous in fields like English literature, sociology, political science and philosophy,” Robert Lichter, co-author of the study and George Mason University professor, said.
The findings follow a survey of Federal Election Commission records last October that found that Georgetown faculty and administrators donated overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates in the 2004 elections.
The report also examined potential discrimination against conservatives in the academic hiring process. Using mathematical and statistical models, the study found that “the ideological orientations of professors are about one-fifth as important” as other professional achievements. The reports’ authors said the data essentially represented proof that political orientation is relevant in the hiring of professors.
“Our data show that when liberal and conservative faculty have similar levels of achievement, liberals teach at higher-rated schools,” Lichter said. “I’m sure [universities] don’t [hire liberals] consciously. The question is whether unconscious bias slips in based on people choosing other people they feel comfortable with. . Ideology is often linked to a broader set of socio-cultural traits that divide `reds’ from `blues.'”
Georgetown University Provost James O’Donnell defended faculty hiring at Georgetown, maintaining that political ideology is not a consideration in the process.
“Political affiliation is not a relevant criterion for hiring and we do not track it,” he said.
“We expect faculty to maintain an atmosphere of open discussion and respect for different beliefs in all our classrooms. We make no attempt to find out about or record political beliefs in the hiring process or after.”
Scott Fleming (SFS ’72), university assistant to the president for federal relations, said that Georgetown professors come from a variety of political backgrounds.
“I don’t believe there is a litmus test for faculty when they’re hired,” he said. “Look at our biggest names. We have everyone from Viet Dinh, who wrote the Patriot Act, to Madeline Albright, Clinton’s secretary of state. At the end of the day we have a pretty diverse faculty.”
Faculty members agreed.
“I am certain that there is no bias in our hiring in the government department,” government professor Clyde Wilcox said. “We don’t ask anyone their political views. . and frankly, we wouldn’t care. We want someone who will teach well and do good scholarship and help with the service work of the university,” he said.
“But I do think that faculty tend to be moderately liberal at Georgetown,” he added. “It is a center of gravity that is center-left.”
Having a certain political orientation may be unavoidable and not necessarily a bad thing, James Lengle, associate professor in the government department, said.
“Most faculty have political affiliations,” he said. “Having a political affiliation and introducing political views into the classroom isn’t a problem as long as there is balance in the presentation, discussions and testing standards.”
Yet students may feel the need to match their professors’ political views in order to do well in a class, according to a survey of students in several top universities, including Georgetown, conducted last fall by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Twenty-nine percent of students surveyed said they felt it was necessary to agree with the professor’s political statements to get a good grade.
Forty-eight percent felt that class presentations given by a professor on political issues were one-sided, and 42 percent said that readings only presented one side of a controversial political topic.
Still, it is possible students incorrectly assume they must agree with a professor’s politics, Lengle said.
“That statistic can be meaningless because students might perceive wrongly that it is necessary to parrot the professor’s views in order to do well in the class,” he said.
Ryan Barker (SFS ’08) acknowledged there is a political tilt in his classes.
“A lot of my teachers do seem to have a liberal bias,” he said. “They don’t push it on you, but they express it.”
The new report uses data from a 1999 survey of 1,643 faculty members at 183 four-year institutions conducted by the North American Academic Study Survey.
