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Democrats outnumbered Republicans by more than 6 to 1 among commencement speakers at top U.S. universities this year, according to a new report that examines graduation ceremonies at elite universities across the country.
The College Fix found that Democratic or Democratic-leaning speakers made up 86% of partisan speakers at graduations at schools ranked among US News & World Report's top 100 colleges.
“The Fix reviewed public statements and donation records to determine the speakers' political leanings,” The College Fix reported Friday. “The figures only include speakers at the main graduation ceremony or, if there are multiple events, at undergraduate ceremonies. Other speakers did not publicly indicate a political leaning and were counted as not applicable in the analysis.”
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A report by The College Fix found that Democratic speakers at graduation ceremonies outnumbered Republicans by a 6-to-1 margin at top U.S. colleges. (Getty Images)
The six Republican or right-leaning commencement speakers The College Fix identified include Arthur Brooks, former president of the American Enterprise Institute, who delivered Vanderbilt University's commencement address on May 7; Darío Gil, assistant secretary of science at the Department of Energy under President Donald Trump, delivered the commencement address at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on May 16; and former University of Texas quarterback and NFL player Colt McCoy delivered the commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin on May 9.
Francis Fukuyama, who was identified as a conservative speaker by The College Fix even though he reportedly endorsed former President Barack Obama for president in 2008, was the commencement speaker at the College of William & Mary's commencement ceremony on May 15. Eric Dickerson, a former Southern Methodist University running back, was SMU's commencement speaker on May 16, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will deliver Yeshiva University's commencement address on May 28.
This year's Democratic commencement speakers identified by The College Fix included New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who will deliver the New Jersey Institute of Technology commencement address; Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke at Michigan State University; and Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who delivered Virginia Tech's commencement address.
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Virginia Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger speaking at an event. (Getty Images)
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., delivered Georgia Tech's commencement address.
Other Democratic speakers at this year's commencement included Dee Dee Myers, former President Bill Clinton's White House press secretary, at Santa Clara University; Alison LaCroix, former President Joe Biden's appointment to the President's Commission on the Supreme Court, at the University of Illinois-Chicago; and Alison Nathan, circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, nominated by Joe Biden in 2021 and identified as the second openly LGBTQ+ woman to serve on a federal circuit court, at the University of California Irvine.
Democratic speakers from the entertainment sector include actresses Kristin Davis of the University of Colorado Boulder, Sarah Jessica Parker of Northwestern University, Jane Lynch of Cornell University, and William Adams, a singer and rapper known as “will.i.am,” delivered the Worcester Polytechnic Institute commencement address.
Democratic authors identified by The Fix who gave commencement addresses included James Patterson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; John Green of Rice University; Xóchitl González of Brown University; and Min Jin Lee of Yale University.
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Sarah Jessica Parker delivered Northwestern University's commencement address. (Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
Conservative speakers have routinely faced hostility on campuses. Chloe Cole announced last week that she was canceling a scheduled speech at the University of Washington after citing alleged threats of antifa.
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In April, Republican Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette told Fox News Digital that South Carolina State University rescinded its invitation for her to give a commencement address because she supports President Trump.
