Conservative politicians warn of “woke” college campuses, where liberal professors teach their opinions and stifle any dissent. Their concerns have led them to get involved in the day-to-day operations of public colleges and universities as never before, including through the creation of taxpayer-funded, right-leaning civic centers.
But most college students don’t share those concerns, our recent reporting found. And a new poll by Gallup echoes what students told us.
The poll, which included responses from nearly 4,000 college students, found that about two-thirds of all students — including two-thirds of Republican students — said that their professors encouraged students to share their views “even if it makes others uncomfortable.” Just 3 percent of Republican students said they felt they didn’t belong at their college because of their political leanings. (The survey was conducted in partnership with the Lumina Foundation, one of The Hechinger Report’s many funders.)
That’s in line with what we found when we traveled to Ohio State University to visit the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society. Ohio is at the center of the civic center movement, with five now up and running.
Eight other states have similar centers or schools at public universities that are generally able to circumvent typical university hiring processes. They are designed to teach about civics and American history by emphasizing what makes the nation great.
As in the Gallup poll, OSU students agree that professors welcome different opinions.
We talked to several students taking Chase Center classes. They said they didn’t feel that any of their professors, in any classes, tried to push their personal beliefs.
“I would challenge anyone to find left-wing indoctrination,” at Ohio State, one student said. “Professors want you to challenge them, they want you to disagree.”
Civic centers get conservative professors and ideas in front of students.
Most of the students we talked to in Chase Center classes said those professors and course materials were right-leaning. As another student put it: “It is very Republican and very patriotic. If you come in with a blank slate, you’ll probably come out a Republican.”
Chase Center leaders said that there was no political litmus test to join the staff there and that the goal was not to establish a conservative faculty, but one that respects intellectual diversity. When we took a closer look and spoke with faculty members, it was clear that the center was hiring almost exclusively conservatives. And the academic council that has oversight of Chase has several prominent conservatives and no notable liberal scholars.
Ohio’s centers are part of a larger national movement to focus on civics education.
These civic centers represent a convergence of two top priorities for Republicans: to counteract what they see as a “woke,” left-wing bent at universities and to improve and promote civics education. The Trump administration backs both goals and has talked about the importance of promoting patriotic versions of American history, allocating more than $150 million to this effort.
Four of Ohio’s centers have received federal grants totaling more than $8 million to train the state’s K-12 teachers in civics education. Chase was one of several centers chosen to receive additional funding through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities — $5 million for more faculty hiring, scholarships and curriculum development.
State lawmakers are taking action as well. Last year, Ohio lawmakers passed a bill that will require all bachelor’s degree candidates to take an American civics class. The course must teach some of the nation’s foundational texts as well as lessons about capitalism. Chase and the state’s other civic centers will play a key role in teaching these classes.
Contact senior investigative reporter Meredith Kolodner at kolodner@hechingerreport.org or on Signal: @merkolodner.04.
Contact investigations editor Sarah Butrymowicz at butrymowicz@hechingerreport.org or on Signal: @sbutry.04.
This story about conservative college programs was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for our higher education newsletter. Listen to our higher education podcast.
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