Harvard Conservative Center: How to Tell If It’s Serious about Intellectual Diversity

The news that Harvard University is considering establishing a new conservative center is being met with near-universal skepticism. Progressives see the center as a surrender in the face of relentless attacks from the Trump administration on higher education in general and Harvard in particular. Conservatives worry that the proposed new center will be an exercise in giving the appearance of reform without really reforming.

Conservatives are probably right to be skeptical. Like much of higher education, Harvard is politically skewed. Surveys indicate that 77 percent of Harvard professors self-identify as “liberal” (with 32 percent saying they are “very liberal”) while just 3 percent say they are “conservative” (with just 0.4 percent saying they’re “very conservative”). A university that saw no problem with this until its federal funding was threatened is probably not serious about recognizing the problem; or, even if it does grasp it, it’s probably not well-equipped to fix it.

About the Author

Andrew Gillen

Andrew Gillen is a research fellow at the Cato Institute.

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The news that Harvard University is considering establishing a new conservative center is being met with near-universal skepticism. Progressives see the center as a surrender in the face of relentless attacks from the Trump administration on higher education in general and Harvard in particular. Conservatives worry that the proposed new center will be an exercise in giving the appearance of reform without really reforming.

Conservatives are probably right to be skeptical. Like much of higher education, Harvard is politically skewed. Surveys indicate that 77 percent of Harvard professors self-identify as “liberal” (with 32 percent saying they are “very liberal”) while just 3 percent say they are “conservative” (with just 0.4 percent saying they’re “very conservative”). A university that saw no problem with this until its federal funding was threatened is probably not serious about recognizing the problem; or, even if it does grasp it, it’s probably not well-equipped to fix it.