Scott Yenor of the Claremont Institute recently laid bare the systemic left-wing bias that has infected higher education in America. In his remarks, he explained why nearly all universities, from public to private and even Christian institutions, look and act the same: they are all products of an ideological machine. As Yenor stated, “The universities are machines,” churning out Ph.D. holders molded by the same progressive standards, who then replicate these standards nationwide. This isn’t education; it’s indoctrination.
Universities have become factories producing cookie-cutter campuses with identical DEI policies, pushing leftist ideologies that have long since abandoned any connection to true scholarship or learning. “Today, less than 5% of professors identify as conservative,” Yenor pointed out, underscoring how this “machine always veers left.” Simply put, the deck is stacked against conservative thought, and any pretense of ideological diversity is just that—a pretense.
Conservatives, Yenor argued, have been too focused on surface-level battles like defending free speech or meritocratic admissions, which do little to disrupt the left’s stranglehold on academia. These fights only provide minor safeguards while the leftist agenda marches forward. Yenor’s solution is to “destroy and restore.” We must dismantle the corrupt machine, as Governor Ron DeSantis has begun doing in Florida by eliminating DEI offices and overhauling general education to focus on Western civilization instead of identity politics. This is just the beginning.
Destruction alone isn’t enough; we must also build. Yenor called for creating new, independent academic centers that promote true liberal arts education, and new institutions entirely, like the University of Austin or Wyoming Catholic College. These must act as beacons of genuine education and civilizational heritage—without which the left will continue to dominate and dismantle everything good about higher learning. The fight is long, and conservatives must be willing to endure it. As Yenor concluded, “There will be no restoration without destruction.”
This post originally appeared at https://www.phyllisschlafly.com/family/colleges/time-to-reboot-the-university-system/
Phyllis Schlafly