Dear Friends,

This will be my last letter for Constructs. On June 30, I stepped down as Director of the Cohen Center Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute (CMSJ/SSRI). While no longer the director of CMJS, I am not retiring and look forward to participating more fully in research and teaching. Serving as director of CMJS and founding director of SRRI has been exceptionally rewarding. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity and am appreciative of the team of extraordinary researchers with whom I’ve had the honor of collaborating. 

I am also indebted to Maurice and Marilyn Cohen and their family, particularly Martin and Betsy Solomon. They have been steadfast supporters throughout my tenure. I also owe a great debt to Judy and Michael Steinhardt who had the foresight to enable the creation of SSRI. Our core funders helped us to create the largest social-scientific research center for the study of contemporary Jewry: an institutional home capable of providing evidence-based understandings of the characteristics and size of the US Jewish population, descriptions of the multifaceted dimensions of Jewish identity, and an exploration of possible future trajectories of the US Jewish community, including its relationship to Israel. 

I very am pleased to report that CMJS long-time Associate Director Janet Aronson has assumed leadership of CMJS/SSRI. She has been appointed Interim Director. She is a skilled researcher, an insightful analyst of Jewish life, and a wonderful collaborator. She has led our community studies research group and has the respect of her team members as well as the leadership of the communities we have studied. In my new role, I look forward to continuing to work with Janet and watching CMJS/SSRI continue to thrive.

On a substantive note, we are releasing today the latest report coming out of our program of research on campus antisemitism. The report “Ideology in the Classroom” focused on university faculty’s political views and how faculty address political topics in the classroom. At a moment when the government is pressuring universities to act against antisemitism and increase viewpoint diversity on their campuses, the study attempts to provide needed data for this policy debate. My key takeaway from the study is that faculty should be regarded as allies, not enemies, in the effort to provide quality education and to address issues such as antisemitism on campus. See below for a more detailed description of the study.

My appreciation to all of you who have followed the work of CMJS/SSRI. I look forward to remaining in contact with you and for our work to continue to be of value.

Warm regards,

Leonard Saxe

Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Social Policy

Ideology in the Classroom

How Faculty at US Universities Navigate Politics and Pedagogy Amid Federal Pressure Over Viewpoint Diversity and Antisemitism

This study attempts to enhance the quality of the discourse and policy decisions related to the role of faculty in shaping the political climate on US college campuses. The report examines the political identities and viewpoints of faculty, their levels of political activism, their concerns about being targeted because of their political views, their approach to addressing current political controversies in the classroom (climate change, racism in America, Donald Trump and American democracy, Russia-Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict), and the extent to which they hold hostile views about Jews and Israel. The findings are based on data collected in spring 2025 from more than 2, 200 faculty at 146 institutions designated by the 2021 Carnegie classification system as having “very high research activity (R1).”