Cornell and Other Ivies Score Low on Free Speech Rankings

New survey data shows that Cornell ranks below average in the area of free speech.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse, a market research firm, surveyed 44,847 student respondents who were enrolled in four-year degree programs during the first half of 2022.

Students were asked how comfortable they felt expressing their views on controversial topics in five different campus settings, whether liberal or conservative speakers would be welcomed, and which issues were difficult to have open conversation about.

The survey data for each campus was then adjusted by FIRE to reflect their ratings of campus policies and incidents involving academic freedom or disinvited speakers. The best college, the University of Chicago, was ranked in 1st place down to Columbia in 203rd place.

FIRE’s ranking system takes into account numerous factors. FIRE specifically gauges administrative support for free speech, quantities of disinvitations, speech codes, and how receptive campus audiences are to liberal and conservative speakers.

The University of Chicago—now number 1 overall in FIRE’s rankings—is where the Kalven Report, a document the Review has previously covered, originated. UChicago’s administration has a history of respecting free speech, so much so that a creed of pro-speech policies has been advanced under the name “The Chicago Principles.”

The following chart shows how Cornell ranks with its peer institutions, other Ivies plus Stanford and MIT.  Cornell’s “below average” ranking (154th nationally) still places it in fifth place in this group, although most of these elite schools are in the lower half of the 203 schools included in the rankings.  Penn and Columbia’s scores were downgraded because of actions taken against faculty for expressing unpopular views. Next to Columbia and Penn at the bottom was Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), whose Dean of Students, Travis Apgar, headed Cornell Greek Life prior to taking his RPI post.

Free speech is still threatened on college campuses. Nation-wide, 40% of students are uncomfortable disagreeing with a professor — in public or in a written assignment. Sixty-three percent reported having worried about damaging their reputation because of someone misunderstanding something they have said or done.