Were academics and intellectuals ever conservative?

[Cassius]

As far as I’m aware academics in most Western countries used (at least prior to the War) to tend towards the right as Universities were still (largely) the preserve of wealthy elites. In the British context, until the 20th century Oxford and Cambridge were both pretty right leaning (partly reflecting their origins as very religious and even more elitist establishments) and as per my understanding German universities were pretty conservative as late as the interwar years.

I assume the dramatic shift to the left post-1945 has been driven by a combination of expanded access for students from non-elite backgrounds; the establishment of new subjects with a fairly left-leaning bent (sociology, women’s studies et al) and the increasing influence of left-leaning ideas on old ones (history et al); and the general dominance of liberal and left-leaning ideas in wider public culture that has prevailed since the War.