Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty

Abstract

This article first examines the ideological composition of American university faculty and then tests whether ideological homogeneity has become self-reinforcing. A randomly based national survey of 1643 faculty members from 183 four-year colleges and universities finds that liberals and Democrats outnumber conservatives and Republicans by large margins, and the differences are not limited to elite universities or to the social sciences and humanities. A multivariate analysis finds that, even after taking into account the effects of professional accomplishment, along with many other individual characteristics, conservatives and Republicans teach at lower quality schools than do liberals and Democrats. This suggests that complaints of ideologically-based discrimination in academic advancement deserve serious consideration and further study. The analysis finds similar effects based on gender and religiosity, i.e., women and practicing Christians teach at lower quality schools than their professional accomplishments would predict.

Recommended Citation

Rothman, Stanley; Lichter, S. Robert; and Nevitte, Neil (2005) "Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty," The Forum: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2

Readers' Reactions

Barry Ames, David C. Barker, Chris W. Bonneau, and Christopher J. Carman, Hide the Republicans, the Christians, and the Women: A Response to “Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty” (July 2005)

Stanley Rothman, S. Robert Lichter, and Neil Nevitte, Fundamentals and Fundamentalists: A Reply to Ames et al. (July 2005)