To Rebuild Trust, Universities Need To Build Open-Minded Brands

As college professors return to their classrooms this fall, they can anticipate a remarkably low level of trust from the general public they are trying to teach. In July, Gallup released its latest data about confidence in higher education, which showed that the number of Americans who express such confidence continues to decline.

Gallup’s report generated very little fanfare because it competed with major political news—an assassination attempt, a president dropping out of the race and important Supreme Court rulings. But as we head back to school, the data should grab the attention of anyone who works in higher education, especially those who, like me, work in university communications and marketing.

The pollster’s 2024 survey shows that the share of Americans with very little or no confidence in academia has more than tripled in less than a decade—from 10% in 2015 to 32% today. About half of that change has taken place just in the past year. Only 36% of Americans report a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in universities.

In other words, for a decade, whatever university employees have done to bolster public opinion of universities has not prevented a steep decline in confidence—a drop that may affect everything from enrollment to alumni engagement.

When I saw how far confidence had dropped in the past year, I thought the high-profile student protests of Israel’s war in Gaza must have taken a toll. But only 5% of higher education’s doubters told Gallup that student protests were a factor in their disapprobation, and only 2% cited antisemitism. Also, only 3% blamed “too much focus on diversity, equity and inclusion,” another factor for which higher education has taken fire.

Instead, higher education’s reputation has taken a hit because of politics. More than 40% of those who said they lack confidence cited the perception that universities are offering liberal indoctrination rather than education. Another 30% said students are not learning necessary skills.

This is why I believe that cultivating an open-minded university brand is a compelling response to this situation. Our universities must build reputations for open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, honest dialogue and, above all else, education. This is an idea in which I’ve come to believe over 13 years of working in higher education. But Gallup’s newest findings lend more credence to the need for rebuilding universities’ brands so that they emphasize open-minded education. Only then will we regain public confidence in our institutions.

Higher Ed’s Closed-Minded Brand

There is nothing new about the political divide in university reputations. In 2015, 56% of Republicans had confidence in higher education, compared with only 20% now, according to Gallup’s data. Democrats’ trust has also declined, from 68% to 56%, leaving them the only group—political or otherwise—of which a majority still express confidence in higher education.

Gallup’s data echo what the Pew Research Center reported in 2019. Pew showed that, among people who believed higher education was “headed in the wrong direction,” Republicans and Democrats disagreed about why: When asked whether colleges are shielding students from some views, 75% of Republicans said yes, compared with 31% of Democrats. When asked whether professors are teaching their own political and social views, 79% of Republicans said yes, compared with 17% of Democrats. In other words, perceptions of a one-sided, closed-minded campus separate those who don’t trust universities from those who do.

Although we in academia have recognized for years how perceptions that campus is closed-minded have been driving the decline in trust in universities, we have done little to address this political divide. In fact, some university communications—from reactions to the election of Donald Trump to official comments on Supreme Court cases and social issues—have reinforced the image of a political campus. Also, the stories we share about alumni and students often feature people working on progressive causes, while Republicans and conservative causes rarely show up. Meanwhile, political liberals far outnumber conservatives on faculties and in administrations, as well as among invited speakers.

Then came October 7, and the ineffective responses of universities spoke volumes. Although Gallup’s survey did not directly link anti-Israel protests to falling confidence, it might be that universities’ reactions to the conflict—such as the lack of statements condemning Hamas’ attack on Israel, compared with rapid-response statements on relatively minor incidents in the past—simply fed the belief in a politically lopsided campus. (Viral social media posts highlighting student protestors without much knowledge of the conflict likely also fed the perception of low-quality education.)

It’s bizarre. It’s as though universities heard Republican criticisms and, instead of trying to counter them, stood up to take a bow. When someone questions the value of humanities degrees, we at universities line up humanities graduates to change the narrative. When people complain about the cost of college, we talk about the value of education and point to financial aid. But when we are accused of closed-mindedness, we prove the criticism.

I see two reasons why we have not met this criticism seriously. First, university communications professionals inhabit the same political bubble as faculty: Many of them (at least, many of those who are open about their views) are politically liberal. A political monoculture makes it difficult to recognize or challenge one-sidedness. Pew’s 2019 report also showed that only about 12% of Democrats both recognize political bias on campus and see it as a major problem.

Second, for more than a decade, marketing consultants have insisted that brands, including universities, must broadcast progressive values to win Generation Z’s brand loyalty and approval on social media. In reality, Gen Z’s political views are diverse and evolving—nearly 75% of Gen Z teenagers today identify as either moderate or conservative—but this myth has endured, perhaps because it is true of the generation’s loudest voices on campus and on social media.

Rebuilding Reputations With an Open-Minded Brand

The adoption of a progressive political posture has not served universities well. Not only did it alienate conservatives, but it failed to maintain a high level of confidence even among Democrats. To regain public trust, universities need to craft more open-minded reputations.

First, universities must publicly reinforce and publicize ideals of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, constructive dialogue and honest debate. Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez did this masterfully in a 10-page response to the March 2023 incident in which students shouted down a conservative judge. Harvard’s decision to cease making official statements about world events is a step in the right direction, too. But universities need to bring these ideals to life with events, storytelling and branding. They need to build a reputation for open-minded thinking.

Second, universities must focus their marketing on education and the student experience—answering the broad concerns the public has expressed about the value of education. Students can get their values affirmed by TikTok algorithms. A university, however, can inculcate critical thinking, intellectual humility, intellectual charity and a thirst for learning, preparing students for careers in a pluralistic society. This must be a cornerstone of higher-ed marketing.

In practice, an open-minded brand looks like an alumni magazine article about graduates who work in Republican politics—a topic that sometimes makes universities shy. It looks like high-profile events with conservative, moderate and politically undefinable individuals—perhaps events that put people who disagree with each other in conversation together. It looks like taking a public stand for free speech and not bowing to the demands of cancel culture. It looks like centering the classroom experience and the skills students gain.

Universities that build an open-minded brand will find a ready audience. Multiple surveys show that students want opportunities for free expression and dialogue across differences. Alumni alienated by campus politics may support efforts to broaden ideological diversity. And the general public will trust higher education more when it is clear that we provide education first and foremost.