Campus craziness isn’t just confined to students. Professors play a role too.
Need some proof? Take for example the “ecosexual” professor urging people to have sex with the Earth or the University of Tampa professor who opined in a tweet that Texans deserved to get hit by Hurricane Harvey because they vote for Republicans.
Incidents like these are apparently taking a toll on Republicans, with a new Pew Research Center poll finding Republicans hold a “skeptical view” of college professors.
“More Republicans offer a cold than warm view of professors on a ‘feeling thermometer’ scale ranging from 0 to 100, with an average rating of 46,” the poll found.
The poll also found a wide gap between Democrats and Republicans on their feelings toward college professors.
Democrats have a broadly positive view of college professors. About two-thirds (66%) give professors a warm rating, while just 7% offer a cold rating and 24% express a neutral view. Liberal Democrats are more likely than conservative and moderate Democrats to rate professors warmly, though majorities of both groups do so (76% and 56%, respectively).
Views among Republicans are much chillier: 43% give cold ratings to college professors, including about a quarter (27%) who give a very cold rating. A significantly smaller share of Republicans (30%) give professors a warm rating, while 25% take a neutral view. Conservative Republicans are especially likely to give very (31%) or somewhat (20%) cold ratings to professors. By contrast, moderate and liberal Republicans hold quite different views: More offer warm (49%) than cold (20%) assessments of professors.
The poll notes that ratings toward professors increase the higher the education level of the respondent regardless of political party. However, Republicans with higher education levels still rate professors lower than their Democratic counterparts:
Republican views of professors are far more negative than Democratic views across all levels of education.
Overall, 43% of Republican college graduates offer a warm rating of professors, while about as many (40%) rate them coldly. By 45% to 26%, more Republicans without a college degree express a cold than warm view of professors.
Republican skepticism toward college professors isn’t too surprising given other polls recently published that show that Republicans’ opinions of higher education are souring. In July, a poll released by Pew Research Center found a majority of Republicans believe colleges have a negative impact on the U.S. Additionally, another poll found most white working-class voters believe a college degree doesn’t guarantee “success.”
Read the full Pew Research Center report.
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