Americans Show Strong Support for Universities Taking On Broader Social Roles While Rejecting Political Activism
A new U.S. study is offering a surprisingly detailed look at how Americans want universities to behave in society — and the picture is more nuanced than many current debates suggest. Conducted in late 2024, right after Donald J. Trump won the presidential election and during a tense period of public scrutiny following campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, the research reveals that most Americans actually support universities engaging with wider social issues. But there’s a clear line many don’t want crossed: political activism.
This study, led by Michèle Belot, an economist and professor at Cornell University, surveyed more than 2,000 adults across the United States. Working with co-authors Lea Cassar and Karoline Ströhlein from the University of Regensburg in Germany, Belot set out to answer a straightforward but important question: What does the American public think universities should be doing beyond teaching and research? And how does this compare with what they expect from big corporations?
The team published their findings in the journal Science Advances on November 7, 2025, and the results reveal broad agreement on some points and strong polarization on others.
Broad Support for Universities Engaging in Society
The study asked participants whether universities — and corporations, for comparison — should involve themselves in any of 10 different social initiatives that fall outside their core missions. These included environmental sustainability, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), health and well-being, global perspectives, patriotism and veterans’ initiatives, free speech and open dialogue, traditional values, and more.
What stood out immediately was the wide agreement that universities should play a broader social role. Americans generally expect universities to contribute expertise and leadership to society. And contrary to some political narratives, most respondents believe it’s appropriate for higher education institutions to support a variety of social initiatives.
But one area fell flat across almost every demographic group: political engagement. Whether respondents were conservative, liberal, educated, less educated, male, or female, they didn’t want universities acting as political actors. That boundary was clear.
Beyond that single point of consensus, however, Americans expressed diverse priorities. Health and well-being earned the strongest support overall — not surprising given its broad public approval across political and gender lines. Global perspectives, environmental sustainability, and free speech and open dialogue also received solid backing from most respondents.
Deep Political and Gender Divides on DEI
Where things became sharply divided was on DEI initiatives.
The study found powerful polarization around this topic:
- Women and liberals strongly supported DEI.
- Men and conservatives opposed it, sometimes intensely.
This wasn’t just a difference of opinion — it influenced how people allocated money in a behavioral experiment built into the study.
Participants were given $30 and asked to distribute it between pairs of universities based on how each school ranked in four areas:
- Academic performance
- Environmental sustainability
- DEI
- Free speech
The universities were anonymized and selected from real public and private institutions with similar endowments. The rankings for each category came from publicly available metrics.
Across the board, academic performance mattered the most. Higher-ranked universities in this category earned about $3 more, which is 10% of the total allocation — a significant difference.
Environmental sustainability and free speech followed next in priority. But DEI provoked the strongest reactions. Women and liberals consistently rewarded universities with strong DEI rankings, whereas men and conservatives deducted money — sometimes even choosing to give less overall to higher-performing universities if those institutions had strong DEI performance.
According to Belot, conservatives in the study were willing to sacrifice academic quality to avoid supporting DEI. This was one of the clearest signs of polarization in the entire research.
Americans Expect Universities to Contribute More Than Corporations
Another notable observation was how people viewed universities compared to major corporations. Respondents believed both types of institutions should engage with social issues but felt that universities have a greater responsibility to do so. This likely reflects the prominent civic and cultural role higher education has traditionally played in the U.S., from contributions to civil rights movements to leadership in environmental sustainability.
The idea that universities should retreat and focus exclusively on academics doesn’t match the public’s expectations, according to this research. Americans see universities as influential institutions with a duty to support the well-being of their communities.
One especially strong area of consensus was health and well-being initiatives. Across demographics, this was widely regarded as an appropriate and necessary role for universities. Belot noted that this offers a rare opportunity for institutions to take on a socially beneficial role that doesn’t get dragged into ideological conflict.
Why This Study Matters Right Now
Universities in the United States have been under intense scrutiny in recent years. Between debates over free speech on campus, rising skepticism toward higher education, and political battles around DEI, public confidence has become more fractured. The events surrounding the Israel-Hamas war only heightened these tensions, raising questions about how universities handle student protests, manage campus safety, and balance competing demands from students, donors, alumni, and political leaders.
This study arrives at a time when higher education leaders are asking themselves how much they should engage with broader societal issues — and what the public actually wants from them.
The findings paint a clearer picture:
- The public wants universities to take on broader social engagements, not retreat to narrow academic missions.
- They support initiatives that improve well-being, encourage global awareness, and protect free speech.
- They do not want universities participating in political activism.
- DEI remains the most polarizing issue, with deep divides by gender and political ideology.
For university administrators and policymakers, striking the right balance will require understanding these divides and making informed decisions about how institutions position themselves.
Additional Context: How Americans Have Viewed Higher Education in Recent Years
These results line up with broader surveys from recent years. For example:
- Pew Research Center data shows growing partisan differences in how Americans view institutions of higher education.
- Republicans have increasingly expressed skepticism about universities, citing concerns over political bias.
- Democrats generally remain supportive but also express concerns about affordability and accessibility.
- Younger adults, regardless of political affiliation, often view universities as central hubs for social awareness and activism — though not necessarily for institutional political activism.
This makes Belot’s study particularly timely because it clarifies distinctions between supporting social initiatives and engaging directly in politics — two concepts that often get blurred together in public debates.
Looking Ahead: What Universities Might Do With This Information
If universities choose to use this research as guidance, a few strategic directions stand out:
- Continue strengthening academic performance, which remains the public’s top priority.
- Prioritize health and well-being initiatives, an area of strong bipartisan support.
- Protect and encourage free speech, which both liberals and conservatives value, albeit differently.
- Approach DEI initiatives with awareness of public polarization, ensuring transparency around goals and outcomes.
- Avoid political activism, which is widely disapproved of across demographic groups.
This doesn’t mean universities can or should avoid social issues entirely — the public expects otherwise. But it does suggest that universities need to be thoughtful about how they align their missions with societal needs.
