Why So Few Conservative Professors? Examining the Research

Ashley Thorne

In "Why Professors Are Liberal: Explanation or Apologia?" NAS Chairman Steve Balch dissects recent research by sociologist Neil Gross on why so few conservatives choose an academic profession. Gross has come to be seen as an authority on this matter, and his studies are often cited to disprove what are seen as exaggerated claims of bias in higher education against conservatives. Dr. Balch has responded to each of Gross's reports, and his latest analysis is well worth a read.

  • Share

Most Commented

March 3, 2026

1.

The Ayatollah’s Friends are on Your Campus

The U.S. strike on Iran and the foreign funding shaping how universities respond to it....

March 11, 2026

2.

Bad Faith Noncompliance: Virginia Schools Flout Supreme Court and Trump with DEI ‘Rebrand’

Trump’s EOs and the Supreme Court make DEI illegal—but colleges keep rebranding it to dodge the law....

Most Read

May 11, 2026

1.

🔒

...