I am pleased that Heterodox Academy is having a go at this. Conservatives make angry claims, while liberals say it's all bosh, but HxA attempts to be disciplined about it: How politically diverse are university faculty? The short version is that faculties do skew liberal pretty reliably, more so in some subjects than others - and you will accurately predict which those are, most of you. However, there are more moderates and apoliticals than is usually reported, and studies showing the greatest divergence are more likely to be underpowered and have the worst percentage of faculty response.
The standard response of "But we are professionals and know how to teach both sides" is not addressed here, but we know the human nature answer already: That is true for some people but others are falsely claiming objectivity because of self-deception or dissembling. That discussion has to follow from the basic data, however, not anticipate it.
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I did't know as many professors as a large study would sample, but I knew quite a few and saw them under many circumstances. Most professors are nerds who wish to be left alone and are therefore highly conformist. Their politics are left-liberal, just like the politics of the professional class of which they are part. When talking about something other than their academic specialty, most professors sound exactly like National Public Radio or the New York Times. Being "smart" is a very large part of the identity of a professor and these are thought to be good sources of "smart" opinions.
There is, however, a sizable chunk of leftist leaven in the loaf. And, as has been said before, lots of left-liberals feel vaguely guilty that they are not farther to the left. Persons moderately to the right thank heaven they are not far right, but persons moderately left ask heaven if they ought to be farther left, The leftist leaven therefore has disproportionate influence in shaping the loaf.
But at the end of the day, a professor is a bureaucrat and a cleric who aims to increase his share of scarce resources and prestige. If you have a cozy chat with a typical professor (say 8 out of 10), he will not talk about knowledge or politics. He will talk about the unfair distribution of resources and prestige.
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