University Employee Donations--Obama is at the Top

[Ilvane]

So, this article came around at my work today and I found it sort of interesting. It's about who University Employees(not just Harvard, where I work and go to school) but other places as well.

THE LEADERS AMONG CAMPUS EMPLOYEES

1. Barack Obama, Democrat, $2.1-million
2. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat, $1.6-million
3. Mitt Romney, Republican, $563,795
4. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Republican, $461,925
5. John Edwards, Democrat, $351,261

There's more information in this link.

http://chronicle.com.ezp1.harvard.edu/weekly/v54/i17/17a00102.htm

Angela

[Clove]

There's more information in this link.

http://chronicle.com.ezp1.harvard.edu/weekly/v54/i17/17a00102.htm

Angela

Yeah? Are you going to provide the User ID/Login for that site as well?

[Clove]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/highereducation/entries/2007/12/17/college_employees_favor_democr.html

College employees favor Democrats in donations
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz | Monday, December 17, 2007, 01:02 PM

Judging by their campaign contributions thus far in the presidential election season, people who work on college campuses in America lean to the left.

Or perhaps, as Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told the Chronicle of Higher Education, they are simply tired of Republican President Bush and want a Democrat in the White House.

That assessment emerges from a review of campaign donations by the Chronicle, which follows higher education matters. Using data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group, the Chronicle found that more than three-fourths of the $6.2 million in donations went to Democrats, with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., receiving by far the most, $2.1 million.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., came in second with $1.6 billion.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney ranked third and topped the field of Republicans, pulling in about $564,000 from faculty members, administrators and others.

Republican Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, came in fourth at about $462,000, followed by Democrat John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, at $351,000.

Among higher education institutions, no Texas college cracked the list of 10 whose employees were the most generous donors, according to the Chronicle. The top three were Harvard University, whose employees gave $281,000; Stanford University, $135,850; and Columbia University, $120,350.

---

For those of us without Ilvane's access.

[Jorddyn]

...with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., receiving by far the most, $2.1 million.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., came in second with $1.6 billion.

Oh, really?

[Clove]

Oh, really?

You'd be better off emailing Statesman.com. They're the ones that published the typo.

[Some Rogue]

HOLY SHIT! COLLEGES ARE LIBERAL INSTITUTIONS?!? NO WAY!!!1111

[Ilvane]

Caution: LONG

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i17/17a00102.htm
From the issue dated December 21, 2007


In Donations From Academe, Obama Ranks Highest by Far
People at colleges are becoming a bigger force in political contributions

By PAUL BASKEN, KELLY FIELD, KARIN FISCHER, and SARA HEBEL

College administrators, faculty members, and other educators have donated just over $6.2-million to the presidential candidates so far this election season, with more than three-quarters of the donations going to Democrats.

Sen. Barack Obama is the clear favorite of academics. The Democrat from Illinois has received about one-third of the total, or slightly more than $2.1-million, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based nonpartisan research group.

The amount donated to Mr. Obama is nearly 30 percent more than what Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, of New York, has received. She ranked second with about $1.6-million.

Mitt Romney, the top Republican on the list, received less than one-third of the amount Mr. Obama got from academe. The former governor of Massachusetts raked in close to $564,000 from higher education.

If recent trends in political giving among academics continue into the rest of the 2008 campaign season, fund-raising strategists for presidential campaigns may need to get more comfortable among the tweed jackets of the professoriate.

During the last presidential election year, in 2004, college professors and administrators made nearly $37-million in donations to all federal campaigns, which include candidates for president and for Congress, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That amount was more than double the level in the previous presidential election year, in 2000.

Ranked by their federal campaign contributions in the 2008 election cycle, professionals counted by the center as working in the education industry, which consists mostly of college administrators and faculty and staff members, come out 12th among all industries in terms of total contributions to federal candidates, according to the center. That puts educators ahead of some historically big givers, such as the oil and gas and the pharmaceutical industries, the center reported.

The increase in donations by academics, who tend to lean left politically, may be the result of their growing frustration with the Bush administration, says Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.

"They seem to have a very clear goal: They want George W. Bush out of office, and they want a Democrat to replace him," she says.

Harvard Employees Top Givers

By institution, the employees of Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia Universities top the list of total donations to presidential candidates. Harvard's employees were the top donors to Mr. Obama, Ms. Clinton, and Mr. Romney. Mr. Obama, who earned a law degree in 1991 from Harvard, was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

The senator is also drawing a significant amount of support from the nation's historically black colleges, including from the presidents of Hampton, Howard, and Norfolk State Universities. Like most of the candidates, Mr. Obama's donor base in academe reflects a certain amount of geographic loyalty, with many of his contributors working at colleges in his home state of Illinois.

Similarly, Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Republican former mayor of New York City, and John Edwards, the Democratic former U.S. senator from North Carolina, get their largest chunks of money from academics who work at institutions in their home states: Employees of New York University give more to Mr. Giuliani than those of any other institution, and people who work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill top Mr. Edwards's list. Mr. Romney does well among donors from colleges in Utah, where he organized the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Giving to Your Own

Such patterns show that faculty members aren't just looking at party affiliation when they give to candidates. Their frequent preferences for candidates with whom they share local roots or personal connections mean that college professors, despite their propensity to give to Democrats, are in many ways little different from most donors, says Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

"It's just human to give to your own," he says.

Personal connections don't always pay off. Ms. Clinton, for instance, received less money from Yale University, where she received her law degree, than she did from several other Ivy League institutions. Employees at Yale gave her campaign $16,750, while employees of Harvard gave her $67,100 and people employed by Columbia gave $49,350.

When weighing candidates, college faculty members also often listen for how the presidential contenders frame the "big-picture issues," says Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.

"These are people who are by definition highly educated, interested in the world," says Mr. Rozell. Their concerns may include the candidates' positions on higher-education policy, like how they would improve college access, he says, but they tend to have a broader list of concerns, like the war in Iraq and economic policy.

Then there are people who give based on even more-general perspectives, like their views of candidates' personalities or the way they engage with voters.

Mr. Obama, for one, seems to have gained many fans among academics in part because they consider him to be less polarizing or tied to Washington establishments than some of the other candidates, including Ms. Clinton.

The Illinois senator's personal style and way of thinking led Bruce D. Bainum, a psychology professor at Pacific Union College, to give the senator $4,600, the maximum allowable donation by an individual for the primary and general elections. (Candidates can only spend money donated for the general election if they become their party's nominee.)

"Obama rings true," says Mr. Bainum, who doesn't see significant policy differences among the leading Democrats. "He's thoughtful. He listens to people of all kinds."

On the Republican side, Mr. Romney won over James L. Doti, president of Chapman University, with his response to policy questions when the former governor came to the California campus.

Mr. Doti, who gave $4,600 to Mr. Romney, says he doesn't agree with all of the candidate's positions, but "he's articulate and smart, and I like his style."

Among other candidates, Mike Huckabee, a Republican and former governor of Arkansas, has drawn relatively few donations from educators so far, even though he has recently made big gains in political polls.

Academics who have supported him include the presidents of several Arkansas institutions, including Ouachita Technical College, the University of Central Arkansas, and Southern Arkansas University. The former governor, who has been making a play for conservative voters in his party, also received $2,300 from Michael P. Farris, chancellor of Patrick Henry College, a Christian college in Virginia known for its strict biblical views and teachings.

THE LEADERS AMONG CAMPUS EMPLOYEES

1. Barack Obama, Democrat, $2.1-million
2. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat, $1.6-million
3. Mitt Romney, Republican, $563,795
4. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Republican, $461,925
5. John Edwards, Democrat, $351,261



COLLEGES WHOSE EMPLOYEES DONATE THE MOST

Below is a list of colleges whose employees donate the most to presidential candidates.

1. Harvard U., $281,050
2. Stanford U., $135,850
3. Columbia U., $120,350
4. Georgetown U., $105,150
5. U. of Chicago, $92,902
6. Northwestern U., $78,450
7. New York U., $74,350
8. U. of California at Berkeley, $71,976*
9. U. of California at Los Angeles, $65,980*
10. U. of Southern California, $63,950

* Some donations from employees of the U. of California could not be classified by specific campus, so the totals may be higher.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2007 by The Chronicle of Higher Education

[Clove]

Caution: LONG

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i17/17a00102.htm


Why bother posting the URL when it requires a login to access? Honestly.

[Clove]

HOLY SHIT! COLLEGES ARE LIBERAL INSTITUTIONS?!? NO WAY!!!1111

I was waiting for that...

[Ilvane]

Because I didn't realize it needed one, seeing as I could click it and access it from home with no log in.

:shrug:

Angela

[ElanthianSiren]

Obama also sends scouts to college campuses. I've been approached by his people twice now, always with a story about how they believe so much in Obama that they've taken out loans etc to work for his campaign. To date, I've never been approached by representatives of other candidates. It's a bit annoying when you're trying to focus on education, to be honest, and I generally tell them, "I'm voting for Huckabee" to shut them up and get them out of my face.

Point being: if they're recruiting from students, they're also lobbying (most likely) from faculty. That colleges tend to favor more social programs because it gets them more money isn't really surprising.

[Parkbandit]

Didn't something like 80% of University professors vote for Kerry in '04? It was some staggering amount.. I can't find the source (Sorry ES).

Most American universities have been a cesspool of socialism and communism ideals for decades. Makes me shudder that I'll be sending my kids to these 'higher learning' institutes.

The only surprise is that they didn't give even more to the liberal candidates.

[Jorddyn]

You'd be better off emailing Statesman.com. They're the ones that published the typo.

That's who the "oh, really" was for. I was amused. Sorry if it came off snarky.

[TheEschaton]

Didn't something like 80% of University professors vote for Kerry in '04? It was some staggering amount.. I can't find the source (Sorry ES).

Most American universities have been a cesspool of socialism and communism ideals for decades. Makes me shudder that I'll be sending my kids to these 'higher learning' institutes.

The only surprise is that they didn't give even more to the liberal candidates.

Funny how a higher education tends to make you more liberal.

-TheE-

[CrystalTears]

Funny how a higher education tends to make you more liberal.

-TheE-
Yeah right.

[Some Rogue]

Funny how a higher education tends to make you more liberal.

-TheE-

Until you get into the real world.

[Parkbandit]

Funny how a higher education tends to make you more liberal.

-TheE-

That's because Universities are filled with people like you.. who have very little footing in reality and sit around thinking of new ways to govern people. I've said it a million times... socialism and communism would seriously be the best way to run the world.. unfortunately, your theories don't take into account basic human traits. They've never been successful in the real world.. and because of human greed, never will be.

[Clove]

Funny how being insulated within an elitist organization tends to make you more liberal.

-TheE-

Fixed it for you.

[Stanley Burrell]

Until you get into the real world.

Or your dad is the head of the CIA.