Annabel DeChant

When one thinks of politics and universities, perhaps the first thoughts that come to mind are the topics covered in political science classes like the ones that are held in our own Harrison Hall or the activism that students take part in our traditional visualizations of the collegiate experience.

However, as I’ve begun the path of pursuing a PhD and a career as a professor, I’ve also been giving thought to the politics of academia as a field, and I noticed several important issues related to this topic. 

Representation in Academia

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision against affirmative action, there has been much discussion of representation in higher education. We can also see these kinds of conversations happening with regards to the makeup of professional academics. 

Across the US, there’s a gap in representation when comparing the student body to the makeup of the faculty. Black and Hispanic students at four-year postsecondary institutions are underrepresented by faculty, while White students are overrepresented. Looking at institutions that grant Bachelor’s degrees, just 6.6% of tenured faculty are Hispanic/Latinx and only 5.2% are Black, with these portions being even lower at institutions granting doctorate degrees. 

There’s evidence that the traditional hiring methods that institutions use tend to tap into networks made up of white, male professionals. Additionally, people of color are sometimes discouraged from the tracks to academic careers as a result of experiences of racism in graduate programs. 

There’s a gender divide, too. We can see this especially clearly comparing different positions in academia. Most of the lecturers and instructors that aren’t tenure-track are women, but “only 44% of tenure-track faculty and 36% of full professors.” There’s also notable pay disparity, with women being paid “less than men at every faculty rank and in most positions within institutional leadership.” 

Hiring isn’t the only important means of assessing representation and equity in the field. Even as progress is made on the hiring end, “there remains much work to be done to ensure that underrepresented faculty feel supported in their careers, evaluated fairly for tenure and/or promotion, and made to feel appreciated and valued in their institutions.” When conditions in academia aren’t equitable, under-represented faculty aren’t set up for success. This continues the cycle of under-representation, and it means our scholarship pool isn’t truly reflective of our society. 

These gaps are also present in faculty’s publication records, which is concerning given the importance of publishing for academic reputation and promotions. One article notes, “A number of studies have shown bias in publishing of academic articles — where women are disproportionately published less, receive less credit than male authors, or turning out fewer but more consequential pieces than their male colleagues.” These issues indicate significant barriers for women’s success in academia. Women are being blocked from sharing their voices in academia’s scholarly discourse. Additionally, if they aren’t receiving the recognition they deserve for their work, their ability to progress in their career and to achieve prestige in their scholarly disciplines is largely hindered. 

Accounting for intersectionality, we can see especially severe disparities. For example, women who are racial or ethnic minorities make up only 5% of college presidents. College presidents are highly visible leadership figures for universities, so a lack of diversity in these positions prevents full representation in higher education. Professionals of the LGBTQ community have had increasing success getting to university president positions, but the politicization of the process, determined by the university board, has generally made moving past provost positions difficult for gay and transgender people. 

One paper argues that the blend of interpersonal and institutional prejudices hinder the opportunities and success that women of color have in the service, research, teaching, and mentoring aspects of their academic careers. It is important that universities and other academic institutions work to address these prejudices in order to properly empower all of their members to do their best in their positions. Not only will the affected members benefit – the larger university community benefits, ranging from students’ educational experiences to the institution’s research achievements. 

Given how much it costs to apply to graduate school – including test preparations, testing fees, application fees, costs of getting official transcripts, and more – I’d expect that lower income students are also discouraged from pursuing this path. Beyond just applying to graduate school, PhD students live on relatively modest living stipends without much room for saving money. One study found that, “the professoriate is, and has remained, accessible disproportionately to the socioeconomically privileged.” 

Academia’s Political Leanings

There have recently been debates over the political ideological bents of academia. Concerns that academia lacked full representation of conservative professors became especially vocal in light of campus protests. Significant portions of faculty identify as “liberal” or as “moderate,” but with relatively liberal social issue views. Across both institutions and disciplines, “liberals and Democrats outnumber conservatives and Republicans by large margins.”

While this trend has led to some concern over hiring practices, the graduate students and recent PhD recipients applying for professoriate jobs tend to be similarly liberal, and this has been the case for at least 50 years.

Another concern people have is that the liberal majority in academia means students aren’t getting the full picture in the classroom, but “just because most professors are liberal doesn’t mean the average student is being force-fed liberal ideology.” Many professors teach subjects that don’t involve political discussions, and even in those subjects where politics may be more involved, most professors are focused on basic skills and central subject matter, with an aim to promote open conversation when class discussions do touch on current events or political issues. 

Neither Republican nor Democratic students report uncomfortability sharing political opinions on campus in overwhelming numbers. According to a Harvard study, the share of students who report these feelings is 21% among Republicans and 8% among Democrats. 

Faculty Power

Recently, we’ve seen some power struggles happening at universities. Faculty are increasingly unionizing, with faculty unions growing by 7% from 2012 to 2023. Unionization among graduate and postdoctoral workers has also been going up. Now, about one-fourth of faculty and one-third of graduate/postdoctoral workers are unionized. 

Union activism is especially important to part-time and non-tenured faculty, who do not share in the higher pay and job security of their tenured counterparts. The sudden resignation of one of Miami’s visiting assistant professors was reported in The Miami Student and brought attention to the issues. 

Other issues expressed by faculty relate to expression of political opinions. For example, UC system faculty put out accusations that the university system was in violation of state labor law in its efforts to subdue pro-Palestine protests. 

The union struggles can be seen at our very own Miami. Here, we have both a faculty and a librarian union. The bargaining platform put out by FAM (Faculty Alliance of Miami) consists of four major points: “Fair and Equitable Pay and Benefits,” “Job Security and Due Process,” “Preserving Miami’s Academic Mission,” and “Building a Strong, Member-Led Union.” 

FAM’s leadership has stated that the Miami administration has tried to weaken the union and stalled negotiations, and they’ve engaged in rally protests to call on the administration to participate in negotiations. Recently, The Miami Student reported that the university’s head negotiator had been indicted in an “illegal bar scheme.” 

FAM has also commented on other issues facing the university community, such as the proposal of a new sports arena. 

Professors, graduate/postdoctoral students, librarians, and other faculty members are important parts of a university community. As a result, unions and other issues are significant examples of the politics of academia. 

Conclusion

In our increasingly contentious political landscape, many of us are very aware of the politics of our society and our government. We’ve probably also noticed that politics are seeping into public and higher education. But there are also some significant social, economic, and political issues facing the field of academia. 

Considering the value of the knowledge and education that academic institutions provide to our society, it’s important that we take note of these to evaluate how we can best contribute to representation, equity, and fair influence in our universities.