The College Fix

In contrast, 54 Democratic professors were identified

There are only four identifiable Republican professors within four humanities departments at the University of Oklahoma, a survey by The College Fix found.

What’s more — in two entire departments, sociology and English — zero Republican professors could be identified in the state’s public voter registration database.

In the other two departments reviewed, political science and history, there are two Republican professors identified in each, for a total of four.

In contrast, the analysis found 54 professors registered as Democrats in the four departments.

The College Fix reached out to department chairs with questions as to how this political skew contributes to departmental ideological diversity. None have responded.

In a statement to The College Fix, campus spokesperson Mackenzie Scheer said the university “is an Equal Opportunity Employer and cannot discriminate against employees or applicants based on their political beliefs or affiliation.”

The Fix had asked how the school could improve ideological diversity on campus.

Political affiliation information was gathered from Oklahoma voter registration data on Cleveland County, where the campus is located.

Of 100 faculty members, only 71 could be identified through the state database. Among these, 54 identified as Democrat, 13 identified as Independent and four identified as Republican.

Republican: 4
Democrat: 54
Independent: 13
Unknown: 29
Total: 100

The University of Oklahoma survey is the latest among a series of investigative reports published by The Fix in recent weeks about the political affiliation of professors.

At Cornell, the survey found Democrats outnumber Republicans 98 to 1.

A survey of the University of Georgia found Democratic professors outnumbered Republican ones by a ratio of about 10 to 1, and the survey of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found Democratic professors outnumbered Republicans by a ratio of about 16 to 1.

The results were slightly less slanted at Ohio State University, where Democratic professors outnumbered Republican ones by a ratio of 7 to 1. And the ratio of Democrats to Republicans at the University of Nebraska-Omaha is 5 to 1, according to a Fix analysis.

The College Fix has chosen not to publish its spreadsheet of specific names to protect the identity of the few Republican professors identified at the University of Oklahoma.

Department of Sociology
Republican: 0
Democrat: 10
Independent: 3
Unknown: 8
Total: 21

Department of History
Republican: 2
Democrat: 18
Independent: 3
Unknown: 11
Total: 34

Department of English
Republican: 0
Democrat: 14
Independent: 3
Unknown: 4
Total: 21

Department of Political Science
Republican: 2
Democrat: 12
Independent: 4
Unknown: 6
Total: 24

MORE: U. of Oklahoma dedicates full week to diversity, equity and inclusion

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