New Study Finds Average College Professor 'Only Slightly Less Left' Than Bernie Sanders
A new study indicates that the average college professor in the U.S. holds political views only slightly less leftist than Bernie Sanders. The research highlights a significant lack of ideological diversity among university faculty, with many professors donating to far-left politicians. Critics argue that the study's sample may not accurately represent the broader academic landscape.
- ▪The study found that most politically active faculty members cluster in far-left ideologies.
- ▪It reported a significant decrease in the range of political opinions among professors over time.
- ▪Elite universities were noted to have the least variation in political views among faculty.
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| Original publisher | Reason Magazine |
| Canonical URL | https://reason.com/2026/06/03/new-study-finds-average-college-professor-only-slightly-less-left-than-bernie-sanders/ |
| Publication time | Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:30:45 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-03T18:37:53.384Z |
| Last seen | 2026-06-03T18:37:53.384Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Higher Education New Study Finds Average College Professor 'Only Slightly Less Left' Than Bernie Sanders FIRE's data suggest that the range of opinions at American universities is far too narrow. Ari Shtein | 6.3.2026 2:30 PM Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google Media Contact & Reprint Requests <img src="https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q80/uploads/2026/06/dreamstime_xl_114605231-800x450.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto" width="1200" height="675" title="Students in a lecture hall" alt="Students in a lecture hall | Photo: Kasto80/Dreamstime" /> (Photo: Kasto80/Dreamstime) In the U.S., the average college professor who donates to political candidates is "only slightly less left on the…
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