The product of a 1967 faculty committee formed at the University of Chicago tasked with reporting on the school’s “role in political and social action.” The Kalven report has become a cornerstone of the literature on the need for institutional neutrality and the importance of upholding academic freedom for faculty and students.

The University of Chicago's 2015 Statement advances a long tradition of reports that emphasize the importance of free speech and academic freedom. Since its publication, it has had a cataclysmic impact in serving as a model policy statement that many other universities have adopted.

Fast Facts from FIRE on the Chicago Statement, explaining the origin of the statement and its significance.

From the Wall Street Journal: in an era of campus chaos, William Galston makes a powerful case for saving higher education—by returning to the University of Chicago’s bold, forgotten credo.

From the Wall Street Journal: The principles of freedom of speech have a special place in the world of the university. How institutions enact them has itself been a subject of debate, explored in this important article.

What would a Columbia orientation that takes free speech seriously look like? FIRE, in partnership with New York University’s First Amendment Watch, developed a series of resources exploring this question.

The report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Free Expression recommended that the following MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom be considered and adopted by the MIT Faculty.

In April of 2023, a group of faculty and research officers from the Columbia Academic Freedom Council issued this weighty statement that offers a principled defense of academic freedom at our Alma Mater. Callingfor protection of open inquiry, even when ideas provoke, it is a timely stand from within the university itself.

In 2022, DePauw adopted this statement modeled on the “Chicago Statement,” the gold standard for institutional policy statements on freedom of expression. Read the full statement here.