10 Most Noteworthy Right-Wing Professors in America

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In the minds of most, academia and liberalism go hand-in-hand. Finding a conservative in a college’s faculty listings can be like trying to find a pacifist at an NRA convention. But despite their small ranks, profs who identify with the GOP are out there, providing an alternative point of view to students used to left-wing teachers. Of these, some are quite well-known conservative voices who have made names for themselves both for their accomplishments in their respective fields and their contributions to the cause of the American Right. These 10 professors are some of the most noteworthy right-wingers from universities around the country.

Walter Berns, Georgetown University:

One of the right’s most well-traveled Constitutional scholars, Walter Berns has been studying the topic for more than 50 years. Over that time he’s taught at Yale, Cornell, the University of Chicago (where he received his Ph.D. in political science), the University of Toronto, and finally Georgetown, where he holds the position of John M. Olin professor emeritus. Because of his experience and his membership in groups like the conservative National Association of Scholars and the National Council on the Humanities (which awarded him the National Humanities Medal in 2005), Berns is a much sought-after speaker on conservative and Constitutional topics. Somehow he also finds time to write, penning seven books and numerous articles for publications like the The Wall Street Journal.
Eliot A. Cohen, Johns Hopkins University:

The Project for a New American Century was a 10-year think tank that basically gave rise to what is popularly known as neoconservatism: hawkish views on war, little interest in diplomacy, and a preoccupation with the Middle East. Sound familiar? Right-wing members included Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, one Richard B. Cheney, and this professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins’ Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. The Boston Globe once called Cohen “the most influential neocon in academe.” For two years he worked in the State Department under Condoleezza Rice and also advised Rumsfeld on the Defense Policy Board. His opinions have been sought on CNN, the Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Jeremy Rabkin, George Mason University School of Law:

During his 27 years of teaching government at Cornell, some people considered Rabkin to be the only right-wing professor at the university. No doubt that was an exaggeration, but despite being one of the few conservative faculty members there, the Harvard Ph.D. was twice named “Cornell’s Most Influential Teacher.” Outspoken right-wing author Ann Coulter was a student of Rabkin’s and has said he has influenced some of her writings. An established writer himself, Rabkin has penned several articles and books on international law and national security, including The Case for Sovereignty and Why Sovereignty Matters. Rabkin also has a place on the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.
Donald Kagan, Yale University:

The conservative think tank Hudson Institute has included such high-profile right wingers as Scooter Libby and Richard Perle. Yale’s Sterling Professor of Classics and History, Donald Kagan also currently holds the title of Trustee Emeritus with the organization, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt where his political beliefs lie. But the Ohio State Ph.D. is also a noted expert on Ancient Greek history, having written about a dozen books on the subject, including the definitive The Peloponnesian War. Like Walter Berns, Kagan also has a National Humanities Medal hanging from his mantle.
Harry V. Jaffa, Claremont McKenna College:

Professor Emeritus of Government Harry Jaffa is one of the foremost scholars on the subject of political thought in America. One of his several books, Crisis of the House Divided: An Interpretation of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, established him as a Lincoln authority and defender, and he has proven his knowledge of the subject in highly publicized debates. His conservative works on democracy and freedom have made him popular with the Christian Right. For example, Jaffa has been noted for his connection to ultra-conservative pastor Pat Robertson.
Harvey Mansfield, Harvard University:

Typical phrases to come from the mouth or pen of this political theory professor include “the crisis of liberalism” and “the humanities are lax and soft.” At 80 years old, Harvey Mansfield is still “facing off against feminists, liberals, and the new left,” as the Harvard Crimson put it. Over that time, while becoming a fixture of the political scene, he wrote 14 books (including one on masculinity entitled, simply, Manliness) and a slew of articles and essays espousing conservative tenets and candidates like John McCain and Sarah Palin, which have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere.
Robert P. George, Princeton University:

In the popular Constitutional Interpretation class, professor Robert P. George interrogates students on their beliefs on abortion, affirmative action, national security and civil rights, and more. Undoubtedly these students know going in where he himself stands. The New York Times has called George “this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker.” He promotes his beliefs through the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, which he both founded and directs. His contacts list includes such right-wing power players as Karl Rove, Glenn Beck, Antonin Scalia, and George W. Bush. His presence at Princeton has helped it develop a reputation as “the most conservative Ivy.”
Gary S. Becker, University of Chicago:

Although widely regarded as a conservative, University Professor of Economics and Sociology Gary Becker is the most libertarian of the right-wingers on this list. There’s no question that he’s a distinguished thinker: he won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1992 for his work on human capital, family behavior, crime, and non-market behavior. In 2007 he added a Presidential Medal of Freedom to his trophy case, which he probably placed in the same room as his National Medal of Science, his three degrees from Princeton and the University of Chicago, and his dozen honorary degrees.
John Yoo, University of California, Berkeley:

Mr. Yoo is a conservative at Berkeley; that in itself makes him noteworthy. But to most Americans (and probably many Muslims), the law professor will be remembered as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President George W. Bush who drafted the infamous Torture Memos that defined torture narrowly enough to make practices like waterboarding acceptable. These days, Yoo writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal, and he is also the author of three books about government, war, and foreign policy.
Martin S. Feldstein, Harvard University:

Would you have guessed Harvard would have not one but two professors on this list? Martin Feldstein served as the top economic advisor for the undying hero of the right, President Ronald Reagan, as well as Presidents Bush I and II. For his work in the latter administration he earned himself the nickname “father of the tax cuts.” Harvard has rewarded his work by making him the George F. Baker Professor of Economics, and he recently won Stanford’s $100,000 SIEPR Prize for Contributions to Economic Policy.

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