Neil Gross

A former patrol officer in the police department in Berkeley, California, Neil Gross is a professor of sociology at Colby College, an advocate for police reform, and an expert on campus politics and free speech. He has taught at Princeton, the University of British Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Southern California.

A frequent contributor to the New York Times, Neil is the author of three books, including Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? (Harvard University Press, 2013), Richard Rorty: The Making of an American Philosopher (University of Chicago Press, 2008), and his most recent, Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture, called “a crucial guide to solving a pressing social issue” by Publishers Weekly. 

In the New York Times:

• It Is Possible to Reform the Police (9/8/20)
• Want to Abolish the Police? Consider Becoming an Officer Instead (7/13/20)
• Why Do the Democrats Keep Saying “Structural?” (7/31/19)
• Justice Is Blind. Sometimes, So Is Prejudice. (4/26/19)
• Is Environmentalism Just for Rich People? (12/14/18)
• Is Your Culture ‘Tight’ or ‘Loose’? The Answer Could Explain Everything (9/16/18)
• Is the United States Too Big to Govern? (5/13/18)
• Why Is Hollywood So Liberal? (1/27/18)
• Professors Behaving Badly (10/1/17)
• Is Trump’s Turmoil Slowing Economic Growth? (8/5/17)
• Does Trump Embarrass You? (6/16/17)
• How To Do Social Science Without Data (2/9/17)
• Are Americans Experiencing Collective Trauma? (12/16/16)
• Is There a Ferguson Effect? (10/2/16)
• The Decline of Unions and the Rise of Trump (8/14/16)
• Why Are the Highly Educated So Liberal? (5/15/16)