Facts Count:
An Analysis of David Horowitz’s
The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America
Spring 2006
Executive Summary
This report examines David Horowitz’s book, The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America (Regnery, 2006), which brings up 101 academics on charges of indoctrinating their students with their political views. Since Mr. Horowitz’s charges are aimed at the core of professors’ professional ethics, we believe that they are not to be taken lightly. For Mr. Horowitz to accuse a single person of these charges—let alone 101— a reasonable person might expect him to do three things: examine the facts objectively, support his conclusions with sound evidence, and make recommendations that are in students’ best interests. We believe that Mr. Horowitz fails on all of these counts.
After conducting interviews with the professors in Mr. Horowitz’s book and fact-checking Mr. Horowitz’s evidence, the Free Exchange on Campus coalition has drawn the following conclusions:
- Mr. Horowitz’s book condemns professors for actions that are entirely within their rights and entirely appropriate in an atmosphere that promotes the freeexchange of ideas. Mr. Horowitz chiefly condemns professors for expressing their personal political views outside of the classroom. He provides scant evidence of professors’ in-class behavior and fails to substantiate his charge that the professors in his book indoctrinate their students. What in-class evidence he does provide largely demonstrates nothing other than that the professors in his book emphasize critical, minority or historically underrepresented viewpoints in their teaching.
- Mr. Horowitz’s research is sloppy in the extreme and, we believe, manipulated to fit his arguments. Mr. Horowitz’s book is characterized by inaccuracies, distortions, and manipulations of fact—including false statements, mischaracterizations of professors’ views, broad claims unsupported by facts and selective omissions of information that does not fit his argument.
- In our view, Mr. Horowitz’s conclusions are based on faulty premises. Mr. Horowitz’s conclusions are based on the premises that America’s colleges and universities are failing to ensure students’ academic freedom, and that students lack the critical thinking skills they need to engage with controversial ideas and decide what they believe for themselves. We believe both premises are false.
There are other troubling aspects of Mr. Horowitz’s book. For example, in our view, the tone and format of The Professors strongly evokes a blacklist. While Mr. Horowitz does not call for the professors in his book to be fired, he does list them by their full names and places of business, he does condemn them for their political beliefs, he does (as this report will show) distort evidence in the service of leveling unsubstantiated allegations, and he does exclude any opposing points of view—all as part of a well-publicized and wellfunded media campaign. In tactics we found to be eerily reminiscent of a bygone era, Mr. Horowitz’s book also speaks approvingly of students who started a “Watch List,” condemns professors for their associations with political organizations, and issues an apologia for Senator Joseph McCarthy.
However, in this report, we limit our focus to disproving Mr. Horowitz’s allegations and conclusions on the basis of facts that can be verified by objective observers. As we hope readers will agree, The Professors provides more than enough fodder for concern on this score alone.
Facts Count
Executive Summary
This report examines David Horowitz’s book, The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America (Regnery, 2006), which brings up 101 academics on charges of indoctrinating their students with their political views. Since Mr. Horowitz’s charges are aimed at the core of professors’ professional ethics, we believe that they are not to be taken lightly. For Mr. Horowitz to accuse a single person of these charges—let alone 101— a reasonable person might expect him to do three things: examine the facts objectively, support his conclusions with sound evidence, and make recommendations that are in students’ best interests. We believe that Mr. Horowitz fails on all of these counts.
After conducting interviews with the professors in Mr. Horowitz’s book and fact-checking Mr. Horowitz’s evidence, the Free Exchange on Campus coalition has drawn the following conclusions:
- Mr. Horowitz’s book condemns professors for actions that are entirely within their rights and entirely appropriate in an atmosphere that promotes the freeexchange of ideas. Mr. Horowitz chiefly condemns professors for expressing their personal political views outside of the classroom. He provides scant evidence of professors’ in-class behavior and fails to substantiate his charge that the professors in his book indoctrinate their students. What in-class evidence he does provide largely demonstrates nothing other than that the professors in his book emphasize critical, minority or historically underrepresented viewpoints in their teaching.
- Mr. Horowitz’s research is sloppy in the extreme and, we believe, manipulated to fit his arguments. Mr. Horowitz’s book is characterized by inaccuracies, distortions, and manipulations of fact—including false statements, mischaracterizations of professors’ views, broad claims unsupported by facts and selective omissions of information that does not fit his argument.
- In our view, Mr. Horowitz’s conclusions are based on faulty premises. Mr. Horowitz’s conclusions are based on the premises that America’s colleges and universities are failing to ensure students’ academic freedom, and that students lack the critical thinking skills they need to engage with controversial ideas and decide what they believe for themselves. We believe both premises are false.
There are other troubling aspects of Mr. Horowitz’s book. For example, in our view, the tone and format of The Professors strongly evokes a blacklist. While Mr. Horowitz does not call for the professors in his book to be fired, he does list them by their full names and places of business, he does condemn them for their political beliefs, he does (as this report will show) distort evidence in the service of leveling unsubstantiated allegations, and he does exclude any opposing points of view—all as part of a well-publicized and wellfunded media campaign. In tactics we found to be eerily reminiscent of a bygone era, Mr. Horowitz’s book also speaks approvingly of students who started a “Watch List,” condemns professors for their associations with political organizations, and issues an apologia for Senator Joseph McCarthy.
However, in this report, we limit our focus to disproving Mr. Horowitz’s allegations and conclusions on the basis of facts that can be verified by objective observers. As we hope readers will agree, The Professors provides more than enough fodder for concern on this score alone.