Reagan and his lasting accomplishments, but their disdain for our Founding Fathers is equally alarming. When asked to list their picks for the three greatest Presidents of all-time, professors mentioned Franklin Roosevelt significantly more times than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison—and four times as often as they mentioned President Reagan. Professors expressed clear disdain for America’s Founding Fathers and our nation’s founding documents. A meager one percent of professors thought the Father of the Constitution, James Madison, ranked in the top three Presidents (compared to 54% for FDR), and only 30% picked Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. While there are 42 past Presidents to choose from, the fact that Bill Clinton got six times as many mentions as James Madison is disturbing. Eighty-seven percent of professors polled agreed it was important to “pass on analysis and understanding of previous United States Presidents.” But what kind of analysis are they passing on? Three times as many professors identified themselves as liberal than as conservative. We’ve known about the widespread liberalism in academia, but many Americans don’t realize the impact this ideological bias has on their children’s educations. Thirty percent of professors admitted that their ideology plays a role in their curriculum. That number is alarming enough, but, after decades of battling the Left on campuses nationwide, we believe it is actually much higher. Young America’s Foundation wants today’s young people to view our founders as the visionaries they were. They set the stage for the greatest growth in personal freedom the world has ever seen. But, as our poll reflects, that’s not the story most students are learning in their classrooms.
nationwide Online Survey of 284 College and University Professors In your own rankings of the greatest historical Presidents, where would you place Ronald Reagan? The greatest United States President
0%
Among the top three greatest United States Presidents
7%
Among the top ten greatest United States Presidents
30%
not among the top ten greatest United States Presidents
43%
Among the worst United States Presidents
17%
Do not know/cannot judge
Presidential Report Card
GPA
Overall Grade
JIMMy CArTer
1.86
C-
rOnAlD reAgAn
2.42
C+
geOrge H.W. BUSH
2.12
C
BIll ClInTOn
3.00
B
geOrge W. BUSH
1.17
D
BArACK OBAMA
2.40
C+
How much, if at all, do ___________ influence your teachings to students?
The Importance of Factual and Balanced Presidential History America’s youth look up to the Presidency, and many students’ policy beliefs are shaped by their understanding of a particular President. Most of our professors and college administrators are pulling today’s students to the Left, and we cannot let their slanted views of history and our great Presidents become facts in their classrooms. Our government and many of our leaders have strayed from America’s founding values of limited government and personal responsibility. Americans are suffering the economic consequences. Our young people must learn about the successes of these fundamental principles in order to advance freedom and protect the ideals upon which our nation was established. Professors gave President Reagan a C+, but Americans should give professors an F. ————————————————————————— Excerpts of this article were featured on Townhall.com.
4%
Your Personal Ideological Views
Current National/ International Affairs
InflUenCeD (net)
30%
67%
A greAT DeAl
2%
31%
SOMeWHAT
28%
36%
UnInflUenCeD (net)
70%
33%
JUST A lITTle BIT
29%
18%
nOT AT All
42%
15%
Survey Methodology The graphs above show results of an online survey of 284 college and university faculty members nationwide. The survey was conducted by the polling company, inc. and fielded from January 1-29, 2012. The sample was drawn utilizing listed sample of college professors nationwide with additional sample hand-pulled and targeted from the top 65 colleges and universities in the U.S. according to the latest U.S. News & World Reports rankings. The original survey instrument contained a brief screener to ensure participants were qualified as members of the respondent universe, followed by 18 substantive questions gauging opinions and attitudes toward American presidents, policies and politics, as well as their influence on teaching. The margin of error is calculated at ±5.8 percent at the 95 percent confidence level, meaning that in 19 out of 20 cases, the results obtained would differ by no more than five point eight percentage points in either direction if the entire population of college and university faculty nationwide were to be surveyed.
Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Summer 2012
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