As a rule, large public universities tend to be left-leaning, but the disparity at the University of Michigan is overwhelming, if political donations are any indication.
Between January 1, 2009 and October 19, 2010, the aggregate donations to federal candidates, parties and committees from Michigan teaching faculty totaled $112,710. Approximately 87 percent of teaching faculty donations went to Democrats or Political Action Committees that benefit progressive causes. Only 2.5 percent of donations went to Republican candidates.
The remaining 10.5 percent went to bipartisan PACs. Many of these are professional medical PACs such as ASTROPAC, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and RHEUMPAC, American College of Rheumatology, which each raised a total of $2,000 from Michigan faculty.
The FEC requires that all donations at or above $200 be reported, resulting in an imperfect tally that does not account for smaller donations.
Incumbent Michigan Democrats earned a vast proportion of contributions. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich) received the largest total contribution to any one candidate, collecting $30,750 from 28 faculty members-almost 27 percent of the total moneys donated. Schauer is running for re-election in Michigan’s 7th district, in a close race against former Republican Rep. Tim Walberg.
EMILY’s List, an organization “dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office,” collected $13,550, the second highest total.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) was another major recipient of Michigan contributions, receiving $10,578 in faculty contributions.
“I am not sure how academics have become so polarized,” said Tyler Shumway, an Associate Professor of Finance in the Ross School of Business. While he has not made any contributions in this cycle, in recent years Shumway has made contributions to the campaigns of former Rep. Tim Walberg and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Shumway said that while he is not “terribly surprised” by the donation disparity, he finds it “a little disturbing.”
Aneel Karnani, an Associate Professor at the Ross School of Business, speculated that “the tilt” might not be as drastic when looking at some individual Michigan schools, such as the business school.
Other faculty members seem to be unfazed by the data.
“Each of us has the opportunity to donate in support of the people that we believe deserve our commitment,” said Gerard Doherty, the Norman W. Thompson Professor of Surgery at the Michigan Medical School, who made a $500 donation to Brian Rooney, who lost the Republican primary to Tim Walberg in Michigan’s 7th district.
Doherty said he believes that this data “reflects the interests of the people who choose to work at the university and feel strongly enough to donate to a candidate’s campaign.”
Ann Evans Larimore, Professor Emerita of Geography and Women’s Studies, was the top faculty contributor, donating a total of $13,400. Professor Larimore declined to comment for this story.
“Academics have traditionally clumped somewhat left of center,” said Marina Whitman, a professor of Business Administration and Public Policy, who said she was not surprised by the partisan gap between donations.”Given how far to the right the Republican Party has moved in recent years, the disparity couldn’t help but have grown.”
In past cycles, Whitman has contributed to candidates of both parties, though this year, her only reported donation went to Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.).
The Center for Responsive Politics conducted a similar analysis of educational institutions, charting the schools with the top donations. This data included all employees of the universities and colleges, not exclusively faculty. The results from all of the top donating schools, while still skewed to favor Democrats over Republicans, are not nearly as lopsided as the Michigan figures.
Eden Stiffman is the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Review and a senior at the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Student Free Press Association.
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