Do College Professors Influence Their Students’ Political Views?
By Matt Zeitlin - Nov 3rd, 2008 at 3:10 pmShort answer: No
Longer answer: According to research done by some public policy professors at George Mason University and other schools, there is no discernible effect due to college faculty on the political views of young people. As one of the authors of a book summarizing the research put it, “it is really hard to change the mind of anyone over 15… Parents and family are the most important influence… Professors are among the least influential.”
The fact that young people, and thus college students, are more liberal has to do with a bunch of other factors–not with the mere fact that they are attending a college. A higher portion of the youth population is of color, which makes the group as a whole more liberal. Also, young people tend to be lower on the socio-economic scale than adults, another reliable indicator of liberal leanings.
And although some conservatives are still running wild with the “liberal indoctrination” line (like David Horowitz and his jihad against liberal faculty), there has been a subtle shift in their approach to higher education, and many are instead dedicating their energy to changing curricula and supporting programs in supposedly conservative subject areas like American history and the classics.
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