In 2024, we conducted a national survey of instructors, which included a subset of questions exploring faculty perceptions of academic freedom, whether there were topics they avoided when talking to their fellow faculty or students, and the extent to which they felt supported by their institution.

This week we published the first set of findings from a survey of academic researchers we conducted last fall. In many ways, The Impact of State and Federal Policies on Academic Researchers, is a companion to that earlier report. Other research—including our 2024 study—indicate that “divisive concepts” laws at the state level, as well as federal actions on DEI, are influencing to some degree how faculty approach teaching potentially controversial topics and making curricular decisions. Data on the impacts that these policies are having on individual researchers and their research agendas, however, are scarce. Through this national survey—which garnered 4,003 responses from across the US—we aimed to gather evidence about how the repercussions that these policies are having on individual researchers and their research agendas. Our data indicates that particularly in states with divisive concepts legislation, nearly a third of researchers report avoiding certain research topics specifically because of these specific types of laws.

Other key findings from the report include:

  • State and federal policies targeting divisive concepts or DEI are shaping research agendas at scale and across disciplines. Twenty percent of all respondents, and 29 percent of researchers working in states with divisive concepts or similar laws, reported having avoided certain research topics because of state laws and policies.
  • Eight percent of respondents representing a wide range of disciplines reported having had a federal grant cancelled in 2025.
  • Eleven percent of respondents reported that federal and state policies restricting research activities are compelling them to seek employment out of state, to leave the academy, or to look for academic positions overseas.
  • Researchers, particularly those at doctoral institutions and those employed in states with divisive concepts legislation, report concerns about whether university presidents and, especially, boards are willing to advocate for their academic freedom as researchers.

We hope that these findings will stimulate widespread conversation at research universities and organizations that support the research enterprise.