The USC professors who open their wallets to back political candidates and movements across the country are overwhelmingly giving that money to Democrats.
A new analysis of campaign finance data from this year found that just over 1% of donations made by USC professors went to Republican candidates or political action committees.
Students often don’t get to know their professors’ political preferences, yet this stark contrast shown in campaign finance donation data sheds light on the correlation between higher education and political preference. The non-partisan Pew Research Center found that in the 2020 election, voters who leaned toward or identified with the Democratic Party were much more likely than their Republican counterparts to have a college degree (41% vs. 30%).
Federal Election Commission data from Jan. 1 through Aug. 30 of this year shows that those who included “professor” in their disclosed occupation and listed USC as their employer donated a total of nearly $81,000 to candidates and fundraising PACs across the country.
Of that total, 99% or $80,142, went to Democratic candidates or PACs while only $841, or just above 1%, went to Republican candidates or PACs.
Some donations are going beyond Southern California. Many are seeking to give their financial support to places that need it more than the Golden State. Professors donated $375 to Emily’s List, a PAC that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. Another professor donated $500 to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy PAC, which was set up to help fund and promote Democratic candidates in Republican-led states. And another professor donated a total of $300 over the course of six months to the Fair Fight PAC, set up by Stacey Abrams in Georgia and says it promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country.
By comparison, FEC data shows that those listing “professor” as their occupation and UCLA as their employer have donated almost $103,500 this year. Of that total, just under 5%, $5,090, went toward Republican candidates and PACs.
USC Leventhal School of Accounting Dean William Holder, who is also a professor of accounting with the Marshall School of Business, gave $500 to Max Ukropina For Congress 2024. Ukropina is running in the crowded Republican primary race to replace Rep. Katie Porter in California’s 47th Congressional District. Porter is vacating the congressional seat since she is making a bid to become U.S. senator in 2024.
Holder declined a request from Annenberg Media to comment on his donation. There are no other records of him making federal campaign donations to any other candidates.
Other GOP donations ranged from $1 to $100 from various professors toward WinRed, a conservative and center-right fundraising platform endorsed by the Republican National Committee.
The majority of donations to Democrats were through ActBlue, a tech company organized as a PAC that allows for individual contributions, including grassroots donations, through its platform. ActBlue donations went to House, Senate and presidential candidates across the country, in amounts as small as $0.30 and as large as $100. A total of $25,773.48 was donated to candidates and PACs through the platform.
One of the biggest donors to Democrats was Karen Hennigan, an associate professor of research in Psychology at USC Dornsife. According to FEC records, Hennigan donated $5,000 to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Hennigan’s research focus at USC has centered on deterring youth from marginalized communities from joining violent groups, with a keen interest in predicting the risk of gang involvement. Her work also delves into effective gang prevention strategies and evidence-based approaches to juvenile justice prevention and intervention. These research pursuits align closely with one of the key priorities that Newsom championed during his first term.
According to the San Diego School of Law, over the past 25 years, California has seen a notable shift in juvenile justice policies, characterized by declining youth arrest and detention rates, increased state investments in local programs and a move toward research-based alternatives to juvenile justice involvement in local probation departments. This came to a head in 2020, when Newsom introduced a proposal for full restructuring of California’s juvenile justice system, a bill supported and passed by the Legislature.
Annenberg Media reached out to Hennigan for comment but did not hear back before the publishing of this article.
Another prolific donor was Geoffrey Cowan, a journalism professor and former dean of USC Annenberg, who donated a total of $6,525. Notable donations went to President Joe Biden and Montanans for Tester, a PAC set up in support of Montana Sen. Jon Tester ahead of what is expected to be a challenging reelection bid next year. Cowan’s largest contribution, $2,500, was to Rep. Adam Schiff, who, like Porter, is running to be California’s U.S. senator in 2024. Schiff is trailing slightly behind Porter in recent polling, 16% to her 17% according to a November UC-Berkeley/LA Times poll.
“There are, I think, three excellent candidates for the Democratic side. I like all of them. But in Adams’ case, I think he’d be a wonderful senator,” Cowan said when speaking about the race and his donation to Schiff. “I think that the job he did on the impeachment proceeding was just illustrative of how talented he is. I think we need major leaders in the U.S. Senate moving ahead, and I think that he would be such a leader.”
Cowan has long supported Democratic candidates up and down the ballot across the country. Ahead of the 2020 presidential primary, Cowan gave $10,185 between January and October of 2020 to a plethora of Senate candidates including Mark Kelly, Raphael Warnock, and Amy McGrath. This included multiple donations amounting to $1,850 to then-presidential candidate Biden.
Cowan has been involved with politics since the early 1960s. In 1968, while working for Sen. Eugene McCarthy during his time at Yale, Cowan founded The Commission on the Democratic Selection of Democratic Nominees. The commission worked to increase public participation in the selection of presidential candidates. He is now director of the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and teaches a large general education seminar at USC.
Cowan’s class, JOUR 200W, frequently hosts big-name politicians from across the political spectrum. He said he chooses people with diverse political viewpoints and expertise — an intentional setup to help students feel “comfortable.”
“I think a classroom should be a space where that’s possible,” he said.
Cowan said he makes the choice of who to donate to based on who he thinks is ethical and will make a major difference on issues he thinks are important. He also determines if a candidate would benefit from significant support.
In comparison to the $81,000 donated by professors, FEC data of those who listed working for USC with occupations other than “professor” donated roughly $100,000 from Jan. 1 through Aug. 30 of this year. Analysis of these contributions showed that $6,134 went to Republican candidates or PACs, just over 6%.
USC Rossier School of Education Dean Pedro A. Noguera, who listed his occupation as dean rather than professor, donated $500 to Rep. Barbara Lee who is also running for U.S. Senate in California alongside Schiff and Porter. Lee is currently ranked fourth in the polls according to the same UC-Berkeley/LA Times poll.
Noguera told Annenberg Media that he has known Lee for 40 years. “Throughout her career she has been an advocate for peace and justice,” he said. “She has taken stands to advance both values even when it was unpopular. I am happy to support her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.”
Outside of those directly employed by the university, some of its biggest donors have also made major contributions to campaigns across the country. Annenberg Media reported in 2022 that Ed Roski, Jr., a USC Life Trustee, made a significant contribution to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign. The donation of $2 million made Roski one of the Republican governor’s top donors as Texas state law does not limit the size of campaign contributions.