Liberal professors don't produce liberal students
Chris Mueller
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Opinion
The role of the professor is clearly an important one in any students' pursuit of a higher education, but are college professors influencing more than just the education of college students?
It is well known that the majority of college professors, and all of academia, tends to be politically liberal. But it is debatable whether or not the influence of professors is directly affecting the political views of the students they teach.
One study done by the Forum, an online political science journal, found that 72 percent of professors at universities in the U.S. described themselves as liberal, opposed to the 15 percent who described themselves as conservative. The disparity between the two sides is obvious, but what remains unclear is why such a huge disparity exists in the first place.
One explanation is that it may be a generation-gap issue. Many of the professors who were hired during the expansion of the higher education system during the '60s and '70s, most of whom lean to the left politically, are just now beginning to retire. As this generation begins to leave the system, they are being replaced by their younger, more politically moderate counterparts. If this trend continues, it is possible the absence of political diversity among college professors may go away all on its own.
Another explanation posed by conservatives in the past, is the possibility of discrimination and exclusionary hiring practices by universities, but they have been able to show little, if any evidence to back up this argument.
David Evans, dean of faculty at Buena Vista University in Iowa, wrote in the Chronicle for Higher Education, a newspaper for college faculty and administration, that it is very rare for the politics of a particular job candidate to come up at all during the hiring process of a professor.
"I'm pleased to say that my colleagues have genuinely looked for the best teacher, scholar and colleague according to professionally reasonable measures, rather than ideology," Evans said, "as a result, we've hired a mix of people with a mix of political positions and attitudes."
It is well known that the majority of college professors, and all of academia, tends to be politically liberal. But it is debatable whether or not the influence of professors is directly affecting the political views of the students they teach.
One study done by the Forum, an online political science journal, found that 72 percent of professors at universities in the U.S. described themselves as liberal, opposed to the 15 percent who described themselves as conservative. The disparity between the two sides is obvious, but what remains unclear is why such a huge disparity exists in the first place.
One explanation is that it may be a generation-gap issue. Many of the professors who were hired during the expansion of the higher education system during the '60s and '70s, most of whom lean to the left politically, are just now beginning to retire. As this generation begins to leave the system, they are being replaced by their younger, more politically moderate counterparts. If this trend continues, it is possible the absence of political diversity among college professors may go away all on its own.
Another explanation posed by conservatives in the past, is the possibility of discrimination and exclusionary hiring practices by universities, but they have been able to show little, if any evidence to back up this argument.
David Evans, dean of faculty at Buena Vista University in Iowa, wrote in the Chronicle for Higher Education, a newspaper for college faculty and administration, that it is very rare for the politics of a particular job candidate to come up at all during the hiring process of a professor.
"I'm pleased to say that my colleagues have genuinely looked for the best teacher, scholar and colleague according to professionally reasonable measures, rather than ideology," Evans said, "as a result, we've hired a mix of people with a mix of political positions and attitudes."
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