The Mason Spirit

A. Lee Fritschler, Professor and Director of Executive Education; Jeremy D. Mayer, Associate Professor; and Bruce L. R. Smith, Visiting Professor, School of Public Policy

Examining how American universities have withdrawn from the world of politics, Closed Minds (Brookings Institution Press, September 2008) is based on a study the three authors created in 2007 of 1,270 professors at 169 research universities. The major question raised throughout the book is whether students are dominated by professors’ political views throughout the classroom. The data were collected from interviews, focus groups, and a national survey made by the authors, as well as Fritschler, Mayer, and Smith’s past experiences.