Liberal U.S. Commencement Speakers Outnumber Conservatives 6 to 1, Survey Says
Liberals invited as commencement speakers in the top 100 U.S. universities outnumber conservatives by 6 to 1 this year.
This finding came from a recent survey conducted by the Young America's Foundation, which gathered data on the top universities based on the US News and World Report ranking.
It said among the top 50 universities, the ratio increased to nine liberals for every one conservative while in the top 10 universities, there were nine liberal speakers and zero conservative.
"Not one conservative official currently serving in office was scheduled to speak," the survey said. Current liberal officials including Vice President Joe Biden, Governor Terry McAuliffe, Senator Michael Bennet, Congressman John Lewis, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti did receive invitations to speak in commencement exercises.
The survey said among the top 100 universities, only one conservative public policy official, former President George W. Bush, was scheduled to speak.
The Foundation said the survey showed universities favoring Obama administration officials.
"Nine Obama administration appointees are speakers in 2015—compared to 14 George W. Bush administration officials for the entire eight years of Bush's presidency," the Foundation said.
It set the trend towards liberal speakers: in 2014, the ratio was five-to-one; in 2013, four-to-one; and in 2012, seven-to-one.
"Higher education preaches inclusion and diversity while largely excluding conservative leaders from campuses. This is exactly why Young America's Foundation has the largest conservative campus speaker series in the country—because our speakers will likely be the only conservatives students hear from in college," said Ron Robinson, president of Young America's Foundation.
This year, Princeton University will have for its commencement speaker Lisa P. Jackson, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration, while Harvard University will have Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts.
Biden will be the commencement speaker at Yale University on May 17.