As we prepare for President-Elect Donald Trump’s second administration, the social science community needs to be clear-eyed about what the next four years may mean for the field. While it may not have always felt this way, academia and social science largely flew under the radar in Trump’s first term. This time will be different.

Backlash to social justice protest movements in 2020 inflamed, and in some cases re-ignited, political firestorms over Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices, joining an ever-expanding culture war on race, gender, and social values. Many in the “anti-woke” camp directly blame social science as a source of a changing world they reject. In 2015, 89 percent of Republicans expressed confidence in higher education. Today, that number is just 50 percent. The trend for Independent and Democratic voters is smaller but directionally the same (Jones, 2024). As harsh as it may sound, for a growing swath of the American public, higher education has become synonymous with elitism, political indoctrination, and ideological extremism.

Recent action by federal legislators previews how social science will be under the microscope in 2025. Back in October, Senator Ted Cruz, now chairman of the Senate Science Committee, released a report on 3,483 federally funded studies “politicized” by DEI. Likewise, in a November letter to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst highlighted “silly science” as a source for budget cuts at the National Science Foundation,  specifically mentioning studies co-authored by SPSSI members. As heads of the new Department of Government Efficiency, Musk and Ramaswamy will wield tremendous influence over government spending, including the grantmaking that sustains many social science departments.

This is a sobering reality, but it is not cause for panic or for abandoning our values. With slim majorities in the House and Senate, both political parties will still need to work together and compromise, particularly on appropriations for science funding. Now is the time for SPSSI members to use their voices for social science—in their institutions, in their statehouses, and in the halls of Congress. We need champions for the tangible, real-world applications of psychology to forcibly dispel the “silly science” myth. In the coming year, look out for workshops and trainings from SPSSI to support this advocacy.

The next few years will certainly pose challenges for our field, but it can still emerge stronger. We should use this time to connect with our peers across discipline, develop relationships with foundations and private funders, and build our skills as advocates and science communicators. Importantly, we should also use this time for reflection. Why has higher education and social science lost the faith of so many, and what can we do to win it back?

Since 1936, SPSSI witnessed the global rise and fall of Nazism and Fascism; been the target of Red Scare McCarthyism; and used social science to oppose segregation, apartheid regimes, and torture across the world. By staying true to our mission and values and evolving to meet these new challenges—both internal and external in origin—we can ensure that social science remains a vital force for progress and equity in the century to come.

Jones, J. M. (2024). U.S. Confidence in Higher Education Now Closely Divided. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/646880/confidence-higher-education-closely-divided.aspx

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