More than 80% of Surveyed Harvard Faculty Identify Politically as Liberals
Crimson | Meimei Xu
In an April 2022 Crimson FAS and SEAS faculty survey that garnered 476 responses, more than 80% of faculty identified as politically “liberal” or "very liberal.” 1% identified as conservative and 0% as “very conservative.” 16% identified as moderate. Faculty identifying as “very liberal” jumped 8% from 2021.
“When asked whether they would support increasing ideological diversity among faculty by hiring more conservative-leaning professors, only a quarter of respondents were in support,” Xu reports. “In contrast, 31% opposed hiring conservative professors to increase ideological diversity, while 44% of respondents said that they neither supported or opposed it.”
Note: According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 37% of Americans identify as Conservative, 24% Liberal and 35% Moderate.
As for service under the Trump administration, according to the Crimson, more than 50% support “extra vetting for former Trump administration officials seeking appointments within the FAS,” more than 40% don’t think former Trump administration officials should be barred outright from receiving FAS appointments, and 30% support barring former Trump officials from FAS positions.
Note: In 2020, Trump received 48% of the popular vote; Biden received 52%.
Faculty members were also asked about climate change, Ukraine and other matters.
Regarding survey and faculty demographics, 42% of respondents identified as women and 25% identified as faculty of color. According to the Crimson, “Based on data in the 2021 FAS Dean’s Annual Report, women and faculty of color make up 39 and 26 percent of FAS faculty, respectively.”
Related:
Harvard Class of ‘22 by the Numbers (Crimson 5/29/22)
