Contributions Show Academic Bias

ARLINGTON, VA— Student activists across the country worked with CampusReform.org to research the political leanings of their professors and found substantial liberal bias in the academy. Research by students at 12 schools found that university employees gave an average of 88% of their political donations to Democratic candidates ($1,094,324.00) and a mere 11% to Republicans ($91,302.00) in the 2008 presidential election cycle.

“These research results are shocking, but not surprising.  Every time CampusReform.org works with a student group on this type of project, the results show overwhelming liberal bias on campus,” said Morton Blackwell, president of the Leadership Institute and founder of CampusReform.org.

While the averages of the students’ research are dramatic, some of the individual results demonstrate an imbalance even more extreme:

School	$ to Dems	$ to GOP	% to Dems	% to GOP
Baylor University	12,658.00	5,900.00	68	32
Boise State University	7,868.00	465.00	94	6
Boston College	77,247.00	5,257.00	94	6
Georgia Tech	73,368.00	9,065.00	89	11
George Washington University	221,490.00	20,500.00	92	8
Texas A&M University	33,310.00	9,000.00	79	21
University of New Mexico	113,521.00	5,951.00	95	5
University of Texas – Austin	42,791.00	4,150.00	81	8
University of Washington	465,386.00	20,985.00	96	4
University of Wyoming	20,136.00	1,595.00	93	7
Washington State University	24,499.00	8,434.00	74	26
Western Carolina University	2,050.00	0	100	0
Total	1,094,324.00	91,302.00	88	11

Note: Some percentages may not add up to 100% if third parties received minor donations as well.

The students who conducted this research at their schools agreed with Blackwell’s assessment of bias in academia.

“I knew that the faculty at UT leaned left, but I never really thought to do research.  Then I got the idea for this activism project from CampusReform.org and found that the imbalance is really remarkable,” said Dustin Matocha, chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin.

“This rings true in my experiences,” added Travis Korson of George Washington University’s Young America’s Foundation group. “I’ve had professors openly criticize conservatives in the classroom while denying that the academy leans strongly to the left.”

Cody Orr of Baylor University agreed, “While there are a few conservative professors, they are vastly outnumbered by the number of leftist and Democrat professors. Though a professor’s political alignment is not always seen in the classroom, even minor leftist bias on numerous assignments and grading can make an impact.”

The schools where students conducted this research are Baylor University, Boise State University, Boston College, Georgia Tech, George Washington University, Texas A&M University, University of New Mexico, UT-Austin, University of Washington, University of Wyoming, Washington State University, and Western Carolina University.

This list may be viewed online at www.campusreform.org/take-action/special-projects/deep-blue-campuses.

CampusReform.org is the Leadership Institute’s comprehensive grassroots mobilization tool for liberty-loving student activists.  For more information about CampusReform.org, contact Bryan Bernys, CampusReform.org National Director, at bbernys@campusreform.org or 703-647-3352.