Yale University has finally achieved the academic version of Nirvana, a state of perfect peace and enlightenment. A recent study found that the faculty had finally purged every Republican donor from its ranks. While 98 percent of the political donations went to Democrats, not a single professor could be found who gave to a single Republican candidate. The complete lock for Democrats is in a country that is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.
The Yale Daily News reviewed more than 7,000 Federal Election Commission filings from 2025 listing Yale as the employer: “Of 1,099 filings that included ‘professor’ in their occupation, 97.6 percent of the donations went to Democrats, while the remaining 2.4 percent went to independent candidates or groups,” the student newspaper reported Jan. 14.”
The study reinforces the recent Buckley Institute report, which found that, of the 43 departments surveyed, 27 entire departments contained zero Republican professors.
Even if the study missed a couple of donations, the radical imbalance is a reflection of the lack of diversity at the school. It is not a perfect point of comparison. There can be a conservative or libertarian faculty member who does not make donations and does not register with any party.
Moreover, those of us who have criticized the lack of diversity have not argued for partisan criteria. Rather, these are metrics that help show the lack of diversity. Many scholars prefer to dismiss these criticisms as speculative or unproven. However, the problem has long been obvious and these studies reinforce what critics have said for years.
One professor is quoted as acknowledging the apparent problem. Carlos Eire, a history and religious studies professor, said, “It’s true, there is very, very, very little intellectual diversity at Yale and at most institutions of higher learning when it comes to politics.” Professor Eire added,“Academics in the US, Canada and Europe have been leaning left for the past three or four generations. And this is something that shows no signs of being corrected or correcting itself anytime soon.”
He is correct.
I was asked by the president of a top-ranked university how he could reverse this problem. He was convinced that the lack of intellectual diversity was causing lasting harm to higher education. I told him that one thing is clear: you cannot rely on faculty members to restore diversity.
I was at a dinner not long ago with a Harvard Law Professor who told me and others that he could not be expected to vote for a faculty candidate with whom he disagreed. Two of us objected that we do that all the time to reinforce intellectual diversity. He was entirely unapologetic and unyielding that he would not vote for faculty candidates who embrace conservative views of the Constitution that he considers wrong.
Faculty members have privately acknowledged for years that they have largely eliminated conservatives and libertarians, but rationalize their records on not finding “intellectually promising” conservative candidates. If the imbalance involved race or gender, a court would crush arguments that the lack of diversity is some unintended consequence of the applicant pool.
University presidents must create enclaves of diversity outside these departments, through institutes and centers that faculty members do not control.
Some faculty are more honest than others.
As I discuss in my book “The Indispensable Right,” Harvard is not just an academic echo chamber. It is a virtual academic sensory deprivation tank.
In a country with a majority of conservative and libertarian voters, fewer than 9 percent of the Harvard student body and less than 3 percent of the faculty members identify as conservative.
For years, Harvard faculty have brushed away complaints over its liberal orthodoxy, including purging conservative faculty. It has created one of the most hostile schools for free speech in the nation, ranking dead last among universities in annual studies by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Only a third of students at Harvard feel comfortable speaking on campus despite being overwhelmingly liberal at an overwhelmingly liberal institution. (The percentage is much higher for the small number of conservative students).
Not long ago, I debated Professor Randall Kennedy at Harvard Law School about the lack of ideological diversity at the school. I respect Kennedy and I do not view him as anti-free speech or intolerant. Yet when I noted the statistics on the vanishing number of conservative students and faculty in comparison to the nation, Kennedy responded that Harvard “is an elite university” and does not have to “look like America.”
Of course, the problem is that Harvard does not even look like Massachusetts, which is nearly 30 percent Republican.
Yale, however, is now a perfect echo chamber where moderate, libertarian, and conservative students (if they can make it into the school) are left to self-censor and avoid backlash for their views.
‘ It’s true, there is very, very, very little intellectual diversity at Yale and at most institutions of higher learning when it comes to politics.” Professor Eire added,“Academics in the US, Canada and Europe have been leaning left for the past three or four generations. And this is something that shows no signs of being corrected or correcting itself anytime soon.”
Academics have always been left leaning. They are more open to exploring and discussing radical ideas and views. The key word here is “politics”. Turley is essentially complaining about the lack of political diversity instead of real ideological diversity.
This is not because Republicans, conservatives, or libertarians are being “purged” from these schools. That is complete hogwash. It’s really self inflicted by Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians. Because these are the same folks who are constantly bashing institutions of higher learning and calling College and University education worthless or a waste of time. These are the same people who are bashing PhD’s, academics because they are more educated than those who are doing the bashing and denigrating. But at the same time they are complaining about the lack of diversity and inclusion of THEIR views and ideas at the institutions that they despise.
What professor Turley should be doing is asking those “purged” faculty who are rarely named or pointed out what their ideas or views are why they left or why they are not organizing to create their own University or College? Shouldn’t there be a “purged” conservative or Republican group calling out these schools or colleges? Where are these faculty Turley seems so worried about? I have not seen any names or academic disciplines that have been “purged” that the Professor talks about. It’s more likely a poor reason to complain about the lack of diversity from those who have been bashing the idea of diversity and inclusion. Turley is essentially being woke about the lack of Republican or conservative viewpoints.
Excuse me, you just posted the same stupid stuff in your two comments this morning.
Is this guy soft or what?
Just emphasizing a point two different ways. Nothing wrong with that.
So you’re the type of troll, who screams insanities the loudest and the most often , means you’re smarter?
You are the exact kind of person who would have claimed there weren’t any black students at University because they are too uneducated to succeed and no worthwhile candidates applied. You are a bigoted racist, but about Conservative ideology instead of race. There is no help for you.
Republicans need to learn how to divide, conquer and fight like Dems. The moral high ground isn’t working.
The problem is they don’t have a high ground. They are constantly attacking Diversity Equality and Inclusion while whining about the lack of diversity, equality, and inclusion of THEIR points of view.
Turley could have used DEI as reason to include more Republicans and conservatives in University faculties. But Republicans and conservatives are vehemently anti-DEI.
You’re cut-n-pasting your comments again today, rehashing them. Got anything original?
Cut and pasting? Nope. How about you? You got anything better than your usual whining? Why don’t you post something… original?
Now that’s original.
GOP wake up!
End Federal Aid to colleges(including student loans, cities, states, non-profits
Outlaw public unions the political army of the democrats!
Then you would be without a job.
If you were employed by an org that was explicitly political, would you make a reportable contribution to the other side? Even if you are theoretically protected by “tenure”, that doesn’t protect research funding, lab space and the like.Ironically, the only place where explicit political discrimination is at all illegal is in federal government employment (Hatch Act).
Diversity of thought, the freedom to express one’s views without fear of retaliation provides the guardrails necessary for a civil, peaceful and secure society. When the institutions of power, knowledge and influence become dominated by a single party, anything can be rationalized for the sake of political purity and the accretion of power including violence as we are witnessing now. The easily influenced become cannon fodder in a battle for complete control. We are in decline and our future is in jeopardy as the unthinkable becomes commonplace.
Sounds like Yale.
“ Moreover, those of us who have criticized the lack of diversity have not argued for partisan criteria. Rather, these are metrics that help show the lack of diversity.”
But you ARE using partisan criteria to complain about lack of diversity because you keep implying that there has to be some equal balance of Democrat vs Republican or Independent in higher education faculties.
There ARE wholly conservative schools around the country and we don’t see the Professor complaining about the lack of more liberal or Democratic faculty at those institutions. Brigham Young, Liberty University, and others have plenty of conservatives and Republicans in their staffing but not enough liberals and Democrats, right? Should these schools be more diverse in their representation?
This is not a “lack of diversity” issue. It’s a student demand issue. Students are NOT interested in conservative ideas or views. If they were there would be more ‘Republican’ or conservative faculty. Professor Turley himself is a life long Democrat, why doesn’t he register as a Republican and start the trend he longs for? There is no lack of diversity in schools regarding faculty. It’s a lack of interest by students and they are not attracted to conservative ideals and views. It’s just that simple. Younger people are not naturally conservative. Some may come from strictly conservative upbringings and therefore are not interested in what they already know. To them a different point of view that is more interesting and attractive and NEW to them is a liberal point of view and subjects often seen as taboo in conservative households. If conservative views and ideals are more interesting they do have choices of wholly conservative schools, christian schools, Mormon schools, etc. They exist.
So what if Yale has no republican donors? Is the Professor jealous or claiming it’s unfair that the most elite schools do not prescribe to diversity of party affiliation or philosophy? It’s important to remember that it is Republicans and conservatives who despise higher education, the elite and the “experts” they spend time demonizing and denigrating. Yet Turley doesn’t seen to understand why there are not more Republicans or conservatives in university or college faculties. Because they are generally opposed to the idea of higher education. How ironic.
Sounds like George’s pet poodle is doing the commenting this morning.
Republicans are generally opposed to higher education??? Sounds like at least one radical poster has no idea what he/she/it is talking about. Too many of these radical purists at Yale is Turley’s point.
Who is always basing higher education? Republicans, conservatives. Who cares if Yale has zero Republican donors? Is there a law or state statute requiring school staff donate equally among parties?
Turley is complaining about schools where there are more left leaning faculty than right leaning faculty because those on the right are being “purged” which is pure BS.
Turley considers himself a Libertarian who comes from a Democrat leaning family. How is it he hasn’t been “purged” from his school? He seems to be doing fine. Why doesn’t he start an organization representing these “purged” faculty? That is the biggest take from all this, he never mentions who these “purged” faculty are or if they even exist.
Will you be making sense anytime soon?
What is the point of the article? Professor Turley is complaining about the lack of diversity in higher education? Perhaps he forgot that the Trump administration made sure “diversity” is a dirty word among Republicans and conservatives.
Since when is party affiliation a reason to claim lack of diversity? There is on law or statue requiring higher education to be politically diverse. Remember Trump’s administration is AGAINST forced diversity. But here we are Professor Turley implying it should be forced in some way because it’s unfair that an equal number of Republican staff are not present at universities. That’s a pretty stupid view. Perhaps he should focus on the merits of the staff instead of political affiliation.
I’ve made this point many times and I will continue to do so because it IS relevant. Republicans don’t seem to have the ideas or views that students find interesting or appealing. If the Professor wants more Republicans, conservatives, or libertarians in college or university faculty then THEY should make their case by expressing their ideas and views to the students. They need to convince students their ideas have merit or are interesting enough to demand schools have them. But they are not doing that. Instead they are whining and complaining that it is “not fair” that they are not being included in faculty, griping about lack of…diversity which is hilarious because their own views and ideas are seen as anti-diversity and anti-inclusion. How Professor Turley doesn’t see it is quite frankly hilariously stupid. Perhaps he’s irony impaired on this issue. Turley is essentially having a DEI issue regarding the lack of Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians at higher education institutions.
Maybe re-read the article. Do you hear yourself? He said diversity of thought…
Maybe you should read for comprehension. Diversity of thought is still diversity. Transgender studies, DEI, women’s studies, critical race theory, etc. all are diversity of thought yet Republicans and conservatives have been attacking them and removing them from schools. And Turley is complaining about the lack of conservative and Republican points of view in higher education. Yeah, really weird, right? Maybe they should take a good look at their own rhetoric first before complaining about the lack of diversity of thought in higher education. I hear the Trump administration likes to pull funding from schools who have diversity of thought they don’t like. Crazy stuff eh?
“Maybe you should read for comprehension.” …. maybe you should write for comprehension?
“What is the point of the article? “. What is the point of your criticism?
“Republicans don’t seem to have the ideas or views that students find interesting or appealing.”
You summed up your comments here: “is quite frankly hilariously stupid.”
“Republicans don’t seem to have the ideas or views that students find interesting or appealing.”
Which is why Charlie Kirk was invited to appear at MANY campuses and could fill campus arenas with students who wanted to hear him speak.
So they killed him.
Um …. who is “they”?
Still lying george
Trump administration made sure “diversity” is a dirty word among Republicans and conservatives.
_____________________________
You feel it’s OK to attack Jews on college campus.
Is that your idea of (diversity)
I’d guess X is a true bloviator.
You’re on a roll walt.
What is Mr. Turley’s view on the media malpractice unfolding in Minnesota? Has the press crossed a line, or does he still see their actions as protected by the First Amendment? How long will he shield these practices under the 1A? At what point does accountability outweigh protection? Could his position change if the spread of misinformation continues and more lives are taken?
“What is Mr. Turley’s view on the media malpractice”.
We’re discussing the lack of conservatives at Yale today.
We already knew this was inevitable! What is unforeseen is the blatant media malpractice occurring and cnn as of 2025 has a new name, adjudicated fake news!
J. Turley, as Carlos Eire said in your piece, diversity of political persuasion has been absent for decades in academia. BUT, as a new visitor to this webpage, I must inform you that it is also absent HERE. Do you read these comments, do you notice the trolls? Free speech or harassment against differences of opinion? Even the president gives the finger….
If I done agree must be a troll. Well if necessary I’m here to troll you. They bring their own demise thru the free market. It works. I and an adjunct. It really sucks these days. Academies isn’t that. It’s baby sitting.
Stop lying. “Diversity of political persuasion” is NOT absent from this blog’s comment section.
He’s not lying, he’s just too stupid to recognize it. Like dustoff.
Its just a bunch of wacky trolls. And nursing home patients.
Hey meathead, no one is forcing you to read the comments. Whew, there’s always one in every crowd, a troll that is.
There is no greater cesspool of intolerance than academia. Once leftwing fascists take over, they root out all dissent, as they did in Germany during the 1930s, the Soviet Union during the 1920s, and China during the 1950s.
To the degree that most educators are liberal, and to the degree that they engage in more indoctrination than education, the situation is self-perpetuating.
Maybe, just maybe, there are more conservs. at Yale than meets the eye. Maybe they’re donating to democrats so they won’t become targets when in fact they support conservatives. I wonder what the average donation is? That would gauge the degree of their liberalism. The fake liberals donate over $100 donors to avoid suspicion and really are conservatives, while the $10 donors are real liberals.
Nice one.
In the US, Canada, France, German, UK, Poland, Romania, Hungary etc… So it’s really nothing new.
Instead there are emasculated “Trans Democrats” of the Bush “New World Order” school of thought
LOL.. now that’s funny
If dustoff thinks something is funny, its because he says so.