A University of North Carolina professor claims to know why there are more liberal academics than conservatives: science.

Professor William Snider, a 17-year member of UNC Chapel Hill Department of Neurology, laid out his theory in an article for the Raleigh News & Observer's op-ed page.

He notes that although he's never known a candidate's party affiliation or political views to come up in search committee discussions, job interviews, or committee deliberations, there is a 12-to-1 ratio of Democratic professors to Republicans.

"So if we are not actively searching for Democrats among job applicants, why is the ratio of party affiliation so lopsided?" he asks.

"One reason is the anti-science attitude adopted by many rank-and-file Republicans and supported by some Republican leaders," Snider posits. "For example, a Pew Research Survey in 2013 found that only 43 percent of Republicans believe that humans have evolved over time.

"During the recent Republican primary season, only Jeb Bush could be found to have ever made a statement expressing belief in the theory of evolution. Several of the candidates were on record stating that they did not accept evolutionary theory."

"The theory of evolution is the central organizing principle of modern biology," Snider observes. "If Republican leaders don't believe it is true, how can scientists support them? Further, public funds in North Carolina are directed at 'voucher' schools that teach that the theory of evolution is false. How can we join the party that apportions funds in this way?"

"Political imbalance can occur even in the absence of intentional bias against conservatives," Jenna Robinson, president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, told The College Fix in an email.

"In most cases, I don't think hiring committees are discriminating," she said about university hiring practices. "But in some departments, it probably does happen. There are certain fields in which only leftist orthodoxy seems to be permitted."