The College Fix

ANALYSIS: There are about four Democratic professors for every one Republican at the University of Central Florida

Republican professors are outnumbered by their Democratic peers at the University of Central Florida, although by a smaller margin compared to other universities.

The College Fix identified the affiliation of 117 professors after reviewing 268 total professors across humanities and social sciences programs at the public university in Orlando. The Fix obtained voter registration data from Orange County via a public records request.

Of those 117 identified voters, 66 are registered Democrats, 16 are Republican, one is a Green Party member, two are Independents, one is in the Libertarian Party, and 31 are declared as “No Party Affiliation.” Another 151 could not be identified.

Broken down to the two major parties, 19 percent of identified professors are Republican while 81 percent are Democratic.

The Fix analyzed 20 departments and programs within the public university – a breakdown for many of them is listed at the end of the article. However, some programs are small in terms of professors and they are grouped together at the end to protect identities. The Fix only looked at professors, not adjuncts, lecturers, emeriti, or staffers.

The Fix cross-referenced against public information, such as curriculum vitae and research papers, to match names with registrations. Other information, including estimated birth year, was matched against birthday data included in the election statistics.

Professors who teach in multiple departments were only counted once in their primary discipline to protect their privacy and to avoid double counting. There may be crossover in some departments as professors are listed in one department but may teach classes under another major.

The anthropology, English, and sociology departments all lack an identifiable Republican professor.

Interim anthropology chair Ty Majetowsky did not respond to two emails and a reminder message left at the department office in the past week. The Fix asked if the results were surprising and captured the general political climate in the department, if there might be any reason for the disparity, and if he would be interested in looking further into the lack of Republican professors. There are six registered Democrats but no Republicans in his department.

Sociology Professor Jason Ford did not respond to similar questions sent in the past week twice via email, asking about the department he chairs. There are four registered Democrats but no Republicans in his department. A staffer transferred a phone call to Ford’s voicemail on Monday, Oct. 28.

English chair James Campbell also did not respond to two requests via email in the past week. A staffer in the department said told The Fix on the phone she would remind Campbell of the questions on Monday, Oct. 28.

The Fix contacted some professors who appeared to be registered Republicans to ask for verification on comment, however, none responded.

Republican scholar says he’s ‘never had a real issue’ with his colleagues

One of the two identified Republicans in the criminal justice department provided further comments to The Fix via email.

“I am registered as a Republican, but I have also been registered as a Democrat in the past,” Professor Stephen Holmes told The Fix. “I do not vote strictly by party but based on the character and principles of the person running.”

“I really don’t talk about it at work,” Holmes said, in response to a question about the general climate for conservatives on campus and if their voices are being heard.

He said further:

My relationships at work are based on work products and respect for the rights and opinions of others. However, I will say that often people that are more liberal are more willing to discuss their political beliefs. I assume that this is because they are a majority.

Asked about trends on campus when it comes to respecting political beliefs, Holmes said, “I don’t like that this stuff has been brought on campus.”

“I have never had a real issue with any of my faculty colleagues. I don’t think it is right that faculty should have to identify their personal beliefs,” he said. “I am an open book. But I don’t consider my conservative leanings radical in any way. I would prefer to say that I lean right, but I can see most issues from both sides.”

Some departments are relatively split – the political science department has three identified Democrats and two identified Republicans.

The public administration department has four Republicans compared to two Democrats.

MORE: Check out the campus cancel culture database

The university has also had its fair share of cancel attempts against professors, however.

Adjunct instructor Alvin Quackenbush faced a cancellation attempt from Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani in 2020 after he used the term “Wuhan Corona virus” to refer to COVID-19. He survived the attempt and remains an adjunct in the school of politics, security, and international affairs.

Psychology Professor Charles Negy had to defeat a cancellation after the school tried to fire him, only to be reversed on arbitration, after he criticized “black privilege.”

Students also wanted history Professor Kenneth Hanson fired because he makes videos about historical events where he dresses up as different characters, which includes darkening his skin at times.

Still, the university has more Republicans in reviewed departments than other universities in red states. Democratic professors outnumber Republicans 7 to 1 at the University of Florida, a College Fix analysis found. Democrats outnumber Republicans 17 to 1 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a Fix analysis concluded.

The Fix has chosen not to publish its spreadsheet of specific names to protect the identity of Republican professors.

Breakdown:

Anthropology:
Dem: 6
Rep: 0
No Party Affiliation: 1
Unknown: 7

Architecture, art history, emerging media, games and interactive media, humanities and cultural studies, legal studies, photography, religion and cultural studies:
Dem: 7
Rep: 3
No Party Affiliation: 4
Unknown: 18

Communications:
Dem: 5
Rep: 1
No Party Affiliation: 2
Unknown: 6

Criminal justice:
Dem: 5
Rep: 2
No Party Affiliation: 1
Unknown: 11

English:
Dem: 14
Rep: 0
No Party Affiliation: 2
Unknown: 21

Film and Mass Media:
Dem: 6
Rep: 0
No Party Affiliation: 1
Unknown: 5

History:
Dem: 6
Rep: 2
Ind: 1
No Party Affiliation: 5
Unknown: 14

Philosophy:
Dem: 1
Rep: 0
No Party Affiliation: 1
Green Party: 1
Libertarian Party: 1
Unknown: 7

Political Science:
Dem: 3
Rep: 2
No Party Affiliation: 4
Unknown: 11

Psychology:
Dem: 4
Rep: 1
Independent: 1
No Party Affiliation: 4
Unknown: 20

Public Administration:
Dem: 2
No Party Affiliation: 3
Republican: 4
Unknown: 13

Sociology:
Dem: 4
Rep: 0
No Party Affiliation: 2
Unknown: 10

Studio art:
Dem: 3
Rep: 1
No Party Affiliation: 1
Unknown: 6

MORE: Democrats outnumber Republican professors 20 to 1 at NC State U.

IMAGE: University of Central Florida/Instagram

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