In a time where universities are often the center of public debate, one University professor wanted to understand what Americans really think about higher education. James Druckman, Martin Brewer Anderson professor of political science, and a national leader of survey research, recently released a study examining how Americans view and support universities. This project, titled “Higher Education Public Opinion Analysis: Strong Support Amid Specific Vulnerabilities,” has been a focus of Druckman’s since 2020. Conducted through the American Higher Education Barometer, a national research initiative that tracks public attitudes toward colleges and universities, Druckman surveyed more than 31,000 participants to measure how much the public trusts and supports universities. The results reveal a complex picture — Americans still see universities as vital to science, health, and democracy, yet remain uneasy about the issues of cost, politics, and campus climate.
These national findings are reflective of our academic pride, mixed with financial and communicative strain, that many students and educators feel on campus — a reminder that even trusted institutions are built upon public support. Druckman joined the University faculty in Spring 2024 after nearly two decades at Northwestern University, his alma mater. Nationally-recognized for his research on political polarization, he served as co–principal investigator of the COVID States Project, a nationwide effort to track Americans’ beliefs and behaviors during the pandemic, as well as the project’s successor, the Civic Health and Institutions Project, which explores public confidence in institutions such as government, media, and higher education. The new survey applies the same public-minded approach to universities themselves. “We were curious what the public thinks of universities generally,” Druckman said. “While there are many polls about perceptions of universities, there were a host of questions we did not think were sufficiently answered.”
His goal, he explained, was to explore how trust, funding attitudes, and campus controversies intersect to shape how Americans perceive higher education today. Druckman’s study was conducted from July to August 2025 — gathering more than 31,000 responses, representative of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The study’s results show that Americans still value higher education — 90% of respondents said that universities are essential for advancing science and technology and more than 80% recognized their importance to healthcare and the economy. A majority of respondents, 59%, said that they approve of U.S. universities overall, and three-quarters reported that they had at least “some” trust in universities, placing higher education as the fourth most-trusted institution type nationwide, behind medicine, the military, and science.
Druckman said he was “most surprised that trust remains relatively high,” as this contradicted what he saw in previous polls conducted on similar topics. However, he noted that while other surveys suggest a decline in confidence, many of those polls ask whether universities are “going in the right or wrong direction.” The problem, according to Druckman, is that public approval is “important, but it’s not the same as trust; and trust is important if you are going to allocate funds to someone.”
The American public may still trust universities, but they also possess a sense of unease that universities are both valued and vulnerable in the eyes of students and educators. Almost 90% of respondents said that they worry about tuition and student debt, and large majorities reported that they are concerned about campus discrimination, free speech issues, and ideological bias. Druckman emphasized that concerns about higher education are shared across political lines, not confined to one party or viewpoint. “Universities have been tied up in various contentious political issues that are often not central to their mission of advancing knowledge,” he said. “Schools do as much good for society as just about any other institution and that message has been lost.”
These mixed attitudes have significant implications for how universities communicate their role and maintain needed support. The report found that a large majority of Americans oppose federal funding cuts to health, education, and science and technology — often by margins of more than four to one. More than half of respondents said that they would be willing to contact Congress to defend research funding, and nearly a quarter of higher education alumni said they would do so if asked by their alma mater. Druckman said this shows both the strength and fragility of higher education’s public standing. “If funding reduces services — as it will likely do for schools connected to hospital systems — there will be clear public reaction,” he explained. “But beyond that, a lot lies with universities to message their value.”
This message Druckman shares regarding university communication resonates at UR, where students and educators regularly balance academic ambition with concerns about accessibility and campus culture. As a research institution deeply rooted in healthcare and innovation, UR exemplifies the kind of university that Americans claim they value most. Yet, as Druckman’s findings suggest, even institutions that inspire pride must continually work to explain their broader impact and benefits. For Druckman, the path is less about defending higher education, but recentering its purpose. Druckman says that students and faculty can engage more effectively by “refocusing the mission on higher education … [and] what it can provide for students and educators, broadly speaking.” Druckman’s research underscores a simple reality — public trust in universities remains strong, but sustaining it will depend on how well universities communicate their importance to the people they serve.
