Professors came out in force to oppose George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and also donated heavily in 2008, giving more than those who work in the oil and gas or pharmaceutical industries — both of which are regularly villainized for their political influence. But professors have given only half as much as those groups this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The elite fundraising committee through which President Obama solicits his largest campaign donations relied overwhelmingly on professors from equally-elite universities last month.
The top donors, measured by number of donations, were Duke University with 54 contributions, followed by 46 from the University of Michigan, 43 from the University of California, 40 from the University of Washington and 37 from Stanford University. Mr. Obama’s alma maters of Columbia and Harvard gave 37 and 34 respectively.
The only non-university employers ranking so highly are tech companies. The Obama Victory Committee got donations from 54 Google employees, 48 Microsoft workers, 43 workers from IBM, and 40 from Oracle.
The fund, which can accept up to $75,000 per person, also raised $3.4 million from 5,600 retirees and $5.1 million from 4,600 self-employed individuals.
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