Red Light, Green Light: How Governing Boards Differ at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's Lowest- and Highest-Ranked Campuses for Free Speech
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| Title: | Red Light, Green Light: How Governing Boards Differ at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's Lowest- and Highest-Ranked Campuses for Free Speech |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Nathanial Bork, Robert Maranto, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) |
| Source: | American Enterprise Institute. 2025. |
| Availability: | American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Higher Education, Governing Boards, Freedom of Speech, Reputation, Trustees, College Environment, Organization Size (Groups), Comparative Analysis, Influences, Educational Background, Leadership |
| Abstract: | A free speech recession has taken hold in American higher education, with students and faculty self-censoring at historic rates and professors facing sanctions for controversial views more often than during the height of McCarthyism in the 1950s. Using 2025 free speech rankings of 251 campuses from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, this report examines whether governing boards influence speech climates by comparing institutions with the strongest and weakest free speech protections. This regression analysis of 1,653 board members reveals sharp differences. Public institutions and those outside the Northeast, especially in the South, tend to better support free speech. Shrinking boards, diversifying beyond alumni and business executives, and mandating free speech vetting in leadership hires could reverse the chill on free speech and equip trustees to defend open discourse against administrative overreach. [Funding for this report was provided by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.] |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED677929 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | A free speech recession has taken hold in American higher education, with students and faculty self-censoring at historic rates and professors facing sanctions for controversial views more often than during the height of McCarthyism in the 1950s. Using 2025 free speech rankings of 251 campuses from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, this report examines whether governing boards influence speech climates by comparing institutions with the strongest and weakest free speech protections. This regression analysis of 1,653 board members reveals sharp differences. Public institutions and those outside the Northeast, especially in the South, tend to better support free speech. Shrinking boards, diversifying beyond alumni and business executives, and mandating free speech vetting in leadership hires could reverse the chill on free speech and equip trustees to defend open discourse against administrative overreach. [Funding for this report was provided by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.] |
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