Crossposted from the news blog
College students showed up during the presidential primary season as prominent supporters of Sen. Barack Obama. Apparently it won’t be causing them many problems with their professors.
An analysis released today by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics found college professors and other educators holding strong as the top donors to Mr. Obama’s campaign. Continuing a trend noted last year, educators donated at least $2.3-million to the Obama campaign in June and July, surpassed only by lawyers and retirees, the group reported. Education-industry donors are typically dominated by professors and other college employees, it said.
Employees of the University of California and their families gave $80,380 to Mr. Obama in June and July, making their institution the third-largest corporate donor to the campaign, after only Microsoft and Google. Eight other universities — Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Michigan, Georgetown, Chicago, Washington, and Pennsylvania — also were in the top 25.
The center’s executive director, Sheila Krumholz, suggested in a written statement that contributions from such renowned universities may help Republicans label Mr. Obama as “elite.” Ms. Krumholz neglected to mention that her own organization’s data list investors and developers, along with retirees and lawyers, as top contributors to the Republican candidate Sen. John McCain.
A business professor at University of California, Carl Shapiro, said he and his colleagues had begun donating to Mr. Obama in large part because of their reaction to the presidency of George W. Bush. Mr. Shapiro told The Chronicle that while he considers himself a political moderate, his donations reflected “a really disastrous presidency that’s gotten people going.”
