Today,the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) opened up a new front in its Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), urging administrators, faculty, and students to take meaningful steps to restore a vibrant culture of freedom of expression on campus.
Penn State is the fifth American university at which ACTA has launched a CFI campaign, joining the University of Texas–Austin, MIT, Cornell University, and Stanford University. CFI also maintains a special page devoted to tracking which universities have adopted principles of institutional neutrality, a key component of ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™.
Over the summer of 2024, ACTA fielded a large survey to assess Penn State students’ attitudes toward free expression and viewpoint diversity. The Campus Experience Survey: An Assessment of Pennsylvania State University, designed and conducted in partnership with College Pulse, queried 2,032 students. Our survey uncovered disturbing rates of self-censorship and widespread intolerance of opposing viewpoints. It also revealed that these problems grow worse the longer students stay at Penn State.
The survey found a serious ideological division in the student experience on campus: Conservative students self-censor more frequently than liberal students, and viewpoint intolerance is much more common among liberal students compared to conservative students. Students also report a lack of viewpoint diversity among the faculty. As a result, students are not regularly hearing the full range of political views common in contemporary American society. Stunningly, 86% of Penn State students report no effort on the part of the university to train them in free expression policies.
“The results of this survey show that the university has a long way to go before it can plausibly claim to support a culture of free expression and diversity of thought on campus,” said ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom, Steven McGuire. An alarming 71% of students report not speaking up because they thought their opinion would be unwelcome. At the same time, 59% of students believe that professors who say something offensive should be reported to the administration.
Dr. McGuire continued, “These results highlight an all-too-common problem in American higher education: Students simultaneously fear speaking up and display intolerant attitudes that fuel self-censorship. Universities need to acknowledge the problem and take concrete action to address it. Fortunately, ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™ outlines the policies and practices that Penn State can implement to start fixing the problems revealed by our survey.”
ACTA issues these surveys to help college leaders understand the specific challenges facing their campuses and to generate public support for reform. By adhering to ACTA’s Gold Standard, institutions can restore, preserve, and expand a vibrant culture of freedom of expression and intellectual diversity on campus. Three of the most important steps are adopting the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression; the 1967 Kalven Report, which calls on institutions to avoid taking official public stands on controversial political and cultural issues; and the 1972 Shils Report, which urges colleges to rely on academic merit alone when making hiring and promotion decisions.
“Free inquiry is the lifeblood of a college education, a prerequisite for the fearless pursuit of truth wherever it may lead,” said ACTA President Michael Poliakoff. “But too many of our nation’s institutions are failing to cultivate an atmosphere in which faculty and students feel at liberty to ask questions and share their ideas without fear of retribution. Our survey shows that Penn State is no different. ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™ recommends 20 steps Penn State can take to turn things around. The students of the great Keystone State deserve a public university that will give them the freedom to learn and teach them how to engage civilly in the robust exchanges of ideas with their fellow citizens.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org
Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.
Discover MoreSign up to receive updates on the most pressing issues facing our college campuses.