Fall 2017 has been update season for Poly Politics. Now included in the list of updates is the addition of Cuesta College data to the site. 

Key findings: 

• The Republican to Democrat for faculty at Cuesta College sits at 1 : 2.19 ; at the college level, there are a little more than 2 registered Democrat instructors for every 1 registered Republican instructor. 
• Overview of academic area break-down:
  • Zero Republicans in 3 of 15 areas
  • Republican plurality in 4 of 15 areas (typically not by a large margin)
  • Democrat plurality or majority in 8 of 15 areas (typically by a large margin)

 

• Greater detail about academic area break-down:
  • Zero Republicans in 
    • English
    • Performing Arts
    • Physical Sciences
  • For the remainder, the Republican to Democrat ratios are:
    • Biology: 1:3.5
    • Business Education: 1:1.44
    • Counseling: 1:8
    • Engineering & Technology: 1.15:1
    • ESL: 1:4.67
    • Fine Arts: 1:7.5
    • Human Development: 1:1.67
    • Kinesiology: 1.83:1
    • Languages & Communiations: 1:4
    • Mathematics: 1.1:1
    • Nursing & Allied Health: 1.57:1
    • Social Sciences: 1:3.75

More discussion about the Cuesta College data, in addition to comparisons to other data is forthcoming--check back for blog post(s) this coming week.

Also, as a passing thought/comment .... With the addition of Cuesta to the site, the "Poly" in Poly Politics no longer refers to "Cal Poly," but now reflects "Poly" in the more classic sense of the word (i.e., multiple, many)

Updated data on Cal Poly faculty is now available. Here are some key findings.

• The Republican to Democrat ratio for faculty now sits at 1 : 3.96 ; at the university level, there are about 4 registered Democrat professors for every 1 registered Republican professor. In 2013-2014 this ratio was about 1:2.70
  • In CAFES this ratio is 1:1.5 (1:0.83 in 2013-2014)
  • In CAED this ratio is 1:3.92 (1:3.07 in 2013-2014)
  • In OCOB this ratio is 1:2.8 (1:2.07 in 2013-2014)
  • In CENG this ratio is 1:3 (1:2.15 in 2013-2014)
  • In CLA this ratio is 1:7.07 (1:5.74 in 2013-2014)
  • In COSAM this ratio is 1:5.2 (1:3.59 in 2013-2014)

 

• Of the 54 departments at Cal Poly: 
  • Democrats compromise a majority (i.e., 50% or more) in 20
  • Democrats comprise a plurality (i.e., are the largest faction, but not a majority) in 17
  • Republicans comprise a majority in 1
  • Republicans comprise a plurality in 2
  • No Republicans exist in 11 

 

• Excluding the 11 departments where there are zero Republicans, the departments with the largest Republican to Democrat ratios are*:
  1. English with 1:20.5 (1:8 in 2013-2014)
  2. Chemistry with 1:18 (1:6.17 in 2013-2014)
  3. History with 1:15 (1:16 in 2013-2014)
  4. Architecture with 1:15 (1:11 in 2013-2014)
  5. Physics with 1:7.67 (1:9 in 2013-2014)
  6. Art and Design with 1:7.5 (1:9 in 2013-2014)
  7. Biology with 1:6.67 (1:5 in 2013-2014)

 

• The departments with the lowest Republican to Democrat ratios are*:
  1. Ag Ed. and Comms with 1:0.25 (5:0 in 2013-2014)
  2. BRAE with 1:0.33 (1:0.36 in 2013-2014)
  3. Animal Science with 1:0.44 (1:0.10 in 2013-2014)
  4. Wine and Viticulture with 1:1 (1:0.50 in 2013-2014)
  5. Architectural Engineering with 1:1 (1:1.33 in 2013-2014)
  6. Horticulture and Crop Science with 1:1.25 (1:1.5 in 2013-2014)
  7. Construction Management with 1:1.67 (1:0.75 in 2013-2014)
  8. Accounting with 1:1.67 (1:2.4 in 2013-2014)

* Note: in a few departments, a factions other than Democrat or Republican have even numbers, or in a few times are even a plurality. But given Democrat-Republican are the two major parties in our electoral system, and are typically the to that are most often compared, ratios for these two are the only presented here

    The distribution by party is quite interesting, especially when broken down by college and major. The College of Liberal Arts holds the recognition as being the college with the greatest number of Democrats, and the Smallest number of Republicans, tallying in at 50% and 8.86% respectively. The College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences holds the recognition as having the greatest percentage of Republicans among all of the colleges (28.92%), and is also distinguished in that it has the most even proportions among parties of all the colleges (28.92% D, 28.92% R, 18.67% NP, 22.29% Unk.). When it comes to being most neutral, the College of Engineering tops the list with its 21.26% stronghold of individuals registered with no party affiliation.

    Majors/Departments are a whole different story. Some special distinctions:

• Top 8 Democrat Strongholds (Ratio and/or Percent of D vs. R)
•         1) Ethnic Studies: 89% D, 0% R
•         2) History: 67% D, 0% R
•         3) Women's and Gender Studies: 62% D, 0% R
•         4) Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management: 57% D, 0% R
•         5) Biological Sciences: 52% D, 3% R; 17.33:1 Democrats to Republicans
•         6) English: 53% D, 4% R; 13.25:1 Democrats to Republicans
•         7) Social Sciences: 61% D, 5% R; 12.2:1 Democrats to Republicans
•         8) Theater and Dance: 67% D, 7% R; 9.57:1 Democrats to Republicans

• Top 8 Republican Strongholds (Ratio and/or Percent R vs. D)
•         1) Agriculture Education and Communications: 62% R, 0% D
•         2) Animal Science: 50% R, 11% D; 4.54:1 Republicans to Democrats
•         3) Management: 26% R, 16% D; 1.625:1 Republicans to Democrats
•         4) Materials Engineering: 30% R, 20% D; 1.5:1 Republicans to Democrats
•         5) Construction Management: 37% R, 27% D; 1.37:1 Republicans to Democrats
•         6) Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences: 40% R, 30% D; 1.33:1 Republicans to Democrats
•         7) Industrial Technology: 33% R, 25% D; 1.32:1 Republicans to Democrats
•         8) Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering: 39% R, 33% D; 1.18:1 Republicans to Democrats

• Top 5 Most Neutral Departments (Ratio and/or Percent R vs. D with NP and/or Unk.)
•         1) Finance: 25% D, 25% NP, 25% R, 25% Unk.;     1:1:1:1
•         2) Liberal Studies: 33% D, 33% R, 33% Unk.;     1:1:1
  
•         3) Kinesiology: 46% D, 8% NP, 46% R;     5.75:1:5.75
•         4) Dairy Science: 22% D, 56% NP, 22% R;     1:2.54:1
•         5) Journalism: 40% D, 30% NP, 30% R;     1.33:1:1