87% of elite professors are liberal

The Washington Post reports today on a study that finds that "...by their own description, 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative," while, "The disparity is even more pronounced at the most elite schools, where, according to the study, 87 percent of faculty are liberal and 13 percent are conservative."

The professors and instructors surveyed are, strongly or somewhat, in favor of abortion rights (84 percent); believe homosexuality is acceptable (67 percent); and want more environmental protection "even if it raises prices or costs jobs" (88 percent). What's more, the study found, 65 percent want the government to ensure full employment, a stance to the left of the Democratic Party.

"Left of the Democratic Party." Technically, I think that qualifies their viewpoint, according to the Post, as extreme. So does the fact that, according to the article, "In contrast with the finding that nearly three-quarters of college faculty are liberal, a Harris Poll of the general public last year found that 33 percent describe themselves as conservative and 18 percent as liberal."

The most left-leaning department, where "at least 80 percent of the faculty say they are liberal and no more than 5 percent call themselves conservative," are:
English literature
Philosophy
Political science
Religious studies
And then, for your comedic enjoyment, the article (click on the title above to see it) quotes a grand total of one expert, Jonathan Knight, director of academic freedom and tenure for the American Association of University Professors. Mr. Knight has the following insight:

"The question is how this translates into what happens within the academic community on such issues as curriculum, admission of students, evaluation of students, evaluation of faculty for salary and promotion." Knight said he isn't aware of "any good evidence" that personal views are having an impact on campus policies.
"It's hard to see that these liberal views cut very deeply into the education of students. In fact, a number of studies show the core values that students bring into the university are not very much altered by being in college."

Yes, that's right, the extreme views of intelligent, charismatic and arrogant professors have little or no impact on impressionable young freshman who up to that point in their lives have thought less deeply than perhaps any generation before them about substantive matters due to the pervasiveness of TV, movies and video games.
You might say that the disparity between professors and the general population's views show that there is minimal impact. But there is evidence to the contrary.

In the last major survey of college faculty, by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1984, 39 percent identified themselves as liberal.

Hm.