Harvard Research: Leftist Profs Don’t Believe Universities Face Free Speech Crisis

A new study that was published Harvard lecturer Pippa Norris claims that leftist professors are unlikely to understand the experience of their conservative colleagues. According to Norris, leftist professors are more likely to believe that “there has been little or no change in respect for open academic debate and pressures to be politically correct.” In 2018, a separate study revealed that nearly 80 percent of academic departments at top universities are exclusively staffed by Democratic faculty members.

According to a report by Campus Reform, a new study out of Harvard University suggests that leftist professors are unlikely to appreciate the significance of the ideological imbalance on American college campuses. In fact, many of the professors deny that universities around the country are facing a free speech crisis.

The research, which was conducted by Harvard lecturer Pippa Norris, considered whether or not “cancel culture” is impacting academic freedom and open debate in the field of political science in the United States. Norris noted that some conservative professors engage in a “spiral of silence” in which they censor themselves to avoid social repercussions.

2/ Academics in political science skew moderate left – especially in America. Confirms long-standing body of research since Lazarsfeld (1958). But the imbalance doesn't necessarily mean growing intolerance of dissent and contrarian voices. pic.twitter.com/73KVcNjvqz

— Pippa Norris (@PippaN15) August 5, 2020

Norris claims that leftist professors are unlikely to admit that the lack of conservative professors at American universities and colleges are an issue.

Leftwing faculty are more likely than those on the right to believe that there has been little or no change in respect for open academic debate and pressures to be politically correct. Given the predominance of progressive liberalism on college campuses, those on the left may be simply unaware of the experience of more conservative colleagues –and deny that there is a problem -or intense polarization over issues of identity politics may make them unsympathetic to these claims. By contrast, however, a broader consensus can be observed among political science scholars about experiencing deteriorations in academic freedom to teach and research, which may reflect broader structural changes in higher education, as much as ideological shifts.

Breitbart News reported in May 2018 that nearly 80 percent of academic departments at America’s top colleges have zero Republican professors. The study analyzed the political leanings of over 8,000 tenure-track professors at America’s top 51 colleges.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more campus updates.