The data comes from a recent survey of voters, one of the first to offer insights on shifting stances between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections — and to specifically dive into the hot-button topic of higher education. The researchers and experts who will be sharing insights are E. Gordon Gee, one of the most respected voices in higher education, who has served in five university presidencies; David V. Rosowsky, senior advisor to the president at Arizona State University, and Stephen M. Gavazzi, professor of human sciences and director of CHRR at The Ohio State University, a center for survey research and data services. 

“One of the clearest messages from the data is this: Most people aren’t asking universities to choose sides. They’re asking them to strike a balance,” Gavazzi said. “Balance between teaching and research. Between serving local communities and engaging globally. Between merit and need in financial aid.”

Striking findings that emerged: 

• The public wants public universities to focus more on classroom instruction and less on community engagement activities.
• The highest level of trust was in universities’ ability to provide students with a good education.
• The lowest level of trust was in universities’ ability to deliver an education free of political bias.
• Nearly one in three people said their political identity shifted in the survey period. 

The survey behind the findings is unique among public opinion polls. It’s longitudinal, which means that research is repeated with the same people across time. Most public opinion research relies heavily on cross-sectional surveys, collecting information from people at a single point in time. This “snapshot” approach to research limits the ability to study people’s evolving views.

About 400 people were surveyed twice, with four years between their responses (spring 2021 and spring 2025). Participants from the American Population Panel (APP) were recruited into the survey, with people responding from the eight most populous states — California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Georgia — as well as West Virginia. The APP is a group of people who represent a variety of demographics and are ready to be surveyed; the initiative is run by CHRR. 

The webinar will be moderated by Beth Daley, executive editor and general manager of The Conversation. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for climate reporting at the Boston Globe, Daley also worked at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting as a reporter and director of partnerships. As director of strategic development at Inside Climate News, she worked to diversify the Pulitzer Prize-winning outlet's revenue stream.