Quotes about Professors

Joseph R. McCarthy

A communist on the faculty of one university is one communist too many.

McCarthy accused thousands of people of being communists and disloyal. He claimed to have lists of communists in universities, the Army and other agencies of government, but never produced such lists. In addition to being a overbearing demagogue, he suffered (and died from) from a serious case of alcoholism. McCarthy’s false and irresponsible attacks eventually caused the Senate to censure him. That and his drinking destroyed his career. Not a single person “exposed” by McCarthy was ever convicted of anything. Many had their careers destroyed however. A number of universities fired Professors because at an earlier phase of their careers, they had been a member of an organization that was communist or affiliated with communists, and then left. These firings led to intensive efforts to strengthen the rules of tenure and academic freedom so that the McCarthy abuses could never be repeated. McCarthy could not be sued for his defamatory lies as he always made his accusations from the floor of the Senate where there is absolute protection even for malicious and irresponsible statements.

Gordon W. Allport

College professors are suspect because whenever emotion is in control, anti-intellectualism prevails.

John F. Kennedy

I once thought that there was some chance that a Harvard professor would know something about politics.

Isaac Newton

Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors.

James Joyce

I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality.

Abigail Spencer

I'm a big fan of teachers.

Michael Dukakis

I always begin my courses by saying if I knew anything about, politics, I wouldn’t be here.

Allan Bloom

There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.

Charles William Eliot

We have not entire faith in the trust that Congress has in the unchangeableness of the laws of arithmetic. We might think that their competency to select a professor of history might be doubted. They seem to have an impression that there is such a thing as" American" political economy, which can no more be than "American" chemistry or "American" physics. Finally, gentlemen, we should a little distrust the selection by Congress of a professor of ethics. Of course, we should feel no doubt in regard to the tenure of office of the professors being entirely suitable, it being the well-known practice of both branches of Congress to select men solely for fitness, without regard to locality, and to keep them in office as long as they are competent and faithful.

Congress was at the time considering the possibility of a National University. Dr. Eliot was one of the national leaders to kill the idea using oratory like this. Not the extreme sarcasm of the last sentence. At the time Congress was notorious for its conditioning appointments on almost any variable except merit.

David Horowitz

Instead of educating students, these professors are trying to indoctrinate them.

David Horowitz

I have been accused of wanting to purge the universities of left wingers. I want to purge the universities of idiots.

Horowitz who preaches against tenure and academic freedom gives his opponents wonderful ammunition to support the concepts. His definition of “idiot” is people who have what he believes is a naïve liberal view of politics whom he argues should not be paid to speak, write and possibly indoctrinate students. So a mathematics professor, teaching algebraic topology, but supports Hezbollah for example should be purged from his job. It is just that point of view that was responsible for having tenure and academic freedom in universities in the first place.

John M. Ashbrook

A Harvard professor is an educator who thinks the American Eagle has two left wings.

W. Mark Felt

By the time they are 21 years of age they are almost ready to leave college and have been subjected to the corrosive influence and brainwashing of ultra-liberal and radical professors.

Explaining the reason for recruiting 18 year olds as FBI informers and infiltrators

Walt Whitman

I will not descend among professors and capitalists.

Brian Krzanich

The thing that was great about San Jose State was, I got connected with some very good professors.

Rainbow Rowell

I'm afraid," Professor Piper said, "afraid that you're never going to discover what you're truly capable of. That you won't get to see-that I won't get to see-any of the wonder that's inside of you.

Jules Verne

Savages!' he echoed, ironically. 'You set foot on one of the shores of this globe, professor, and you’re surprised to find savages? Where aren’t there savages? Besides, are they any worse than others, these whom you call savages?