Campuses Shift to Middle as 'Radical Profs' Retire

Liberal legacy waning with new generation

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 3, 2008 3:52 AM CDT

(Newser) – University campuses all over the country are becoming less passionate and more businesslike as liberal '60s professors retire, the New York Times reports. The process is expected to accelerate over the next decade as Baby Boomers hired in the great '70s expansion of higher education move on, to be replaced by a generation for whom '60s-style radicalism is ancient history.

As higher education funding shrinks, many younger professors are more concerned with career-boosting than fighting the "culture wars," with corporate handouts and a shift to science further muddying the ideological waters. The newbies "may not be as instinctively anti-authoritarian," one professor said of the younger generation. "They just don’t have that in their background.”

In this May 1, 2007 file photo, a student walks past a new Ohio Historical marker commemorating the 1970 Kent State University shootings on the campus in Kent, Ohio. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

American youths stage a rally 25 April 1971 in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. protesting United States military involvement in the Vietnam war. (Getty Images)

Growth in subjects like computer science and engineering is credited with shifting campuses further from the radical left. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Campuses Shift to Middle as 'Radical Profs' Retire

Liberal legacy waning with new generation

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Harvard Loses Top Spot in College Rankings

But US schools clean up

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

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Government hopes trimming FAFSA will get more aid to those who need it

Colleges Consider Move to 3-Year Degrees

Downturn has colleges looking for ways to save students time, money

'Jocks Only' Tutoring Centers Irk Others on Campus

Critics say investing in flashy, athletes-only centers is unfair to other students

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Harvard Loses Top Spot in College Rankings

But US schools clean up

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

Feds to Streamline Infamous Financial Aid Form

Government hopes trimming FAFSA will get more aid to those who need it

Colleges Consider Move to 3-Year Degrees

Downturn has colleges looking for ways to save students time, money

'Jocks Only' Tutoring Centers Irk Others on Campus

Critics say investing in flashy, athletes-only centers is unfair to other students

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