The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) recently released its sixth annual College Free Speech Rankings, and Pitt, like many other colleges, didn’t get a passing grade.
The survey ranked 257 schools based on 68,510 student responses to a wide array of free speech-related questions. Of those, 166 of the 257 schools surveyed — including Pitt, which ranked 219th — got an F for their speech climate. Though many Pennsylvania schools ranked higher than Pitt, all got an F rating. At Pitt, around 350 students were surveyed.
Last year, Pitt placed 208th in FIRE’s ranking, and the year before, it ranked 130th.
“This year, students largely opposed allowing any controversial campus speaker, no matter that speaker's politics,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff in a news release. “Rather than hearing out and then responding to an ideological opponent, both liberal and conservative college students are retreating from the encounter entirely.”
A Pitt spokesperson said the University “has a strong record of supporting free speech for its students, faculty and staff and encouraging constructive conversations and the free exchange of ideas. Pitt shares FIRE’s commitment to a campus community where free speech is affirmed, and free expression is assured.”
In 2023, Pitt became a founding member of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars’ Campus Call for Free Expression. The University also entered Citizens & Scholars’ Campuswide Immersion Pilot, which “aims to improve campus dialogue and collaboration by supporting the creation of campus cultures in which all undergraduate students appreciate, learn, and practice civil discourse skills during their time at school,” according to the program’s website.
A “Free Exchange of Ideas” is one of the Plan for Pitt’s focus areas under the Accountability and Trust pillar. “While the University acknowledges there are always opportunities to improve, it will continue the work of fostering a campus community supportive of free speech,” the spokesperson said.
The schools ranking highest in the FIRE survey were Claremont McKenna College (B-), Purdue University (C) and the University of Chicago (C). At the bottom were Barnard College, Columbia University and Indiana University.
— Susan Jones
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