A recent faculty survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) reveals troubling trends regarding academic freedom and political bias in U.S. colleges. The survey highlights a significant bias against conservatives in academia, with only 20% of respondents believing a conservative would be a “positive fit” in their department, while 71% felt a liberal would fit well. Additionally, 39% of faculty members viewed a conservative as a “poor fit.”

The survey also points to an alarming rise in self-censorship among academics, with 55% of conservative faculty members reporting that they hide their views to keep their jobs, compared to just 17% of liberal faculty. This self-censorship rate today is nearly four times higher than it was during the McCarthy era, a time historically associated with political repression and blacklisting.

Conservative faculty, along with moderates, strongly oppose political statements and mandatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) pledges in colleges, with 86% and 85% disapproving of these policies, respectively. Even a majority of liberal faculty (57%) oppose mandatory DEI statements, though fewer compared to conservative and moderate faculty.

The survey also revealed that 87% of faculty members find it “difficult to have an open and honest conversation” on campus about at least one topic, with the Israel-Hamas war being the most difficult issue to discuss. Additionally, around one in seven faculty members reported being “disciplined or threatened with discipline” for their speech.

FIRE’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings, based on over 58,000 student responses, ranked elite institutions like Harvard, Columbia, and New York University poorly for free speech, with conservative students reporting significantly more pressure to self-censor their beliefs than their liberal peers.