Can Arizona’s Universities Achieve a Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression?

February 4, 2025 – Today, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) released a survey of over 3,000 students at Arizona’s three public universities as well as a report card evaluating the state of free expression on these campuses. This work is part of ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative^®, which has launched campaigns at institutions across the country to restore free expression and open inquiry, including at the University of Texas–Austin, Stanford University, MIT, Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. 

The Arizona Campus Experience Survey, conducted in partnership with College Pulse, polled 3,294 undergraduate students at Arizona State University (ASU), Northern Arizona University (NAU), and the University of Arizona (U of A). The survey found high levels of viewpoint intolerance and self-censorship on all three campuses. Key findings include:

• Fifty-nine percent of students at all three Arizona public universities feel the need to self-censor at least occasionally because of how others might respond;
• Only 17% of students at all three Arizona public universities report receiving training from faculty or staff on free expression policies;
• Sixty percent of students at all three schools believe professors who say something students find offensive should be reported to the university;
• Twenty-eight percent of students at all three schools say using violence to stop speech is acceptable, at least on rare occasions; and
• Sixty percent of students at all three schools believe their universities should take action to promote political diversity among faculty.

ACTA also evaluated all three of these universities against ACTA’s Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™, a comprehensive 20-point action plan for restoring free expression and intellectual diversity on campus. Our Arizona Report Card found that although ASU, NAU, and U of A have made some progress toward improving the campus climate for free expression, including by adopting the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression, there is much more work to be done. The report card identifies several steps that Arizona’s public universities can take to promote the free exchange of ideas, including adopting a policy of institutional neutrality, pursuing viewpoint diversity in faculty hiring, requiring free expression training for administrative staff, and requiring regular institutional research on the state of free expression on campus.

“While some colleges and universities around the country have taken steps to protect and promote free expression and diversity of thought on their campuses, few have truly embraced and prioritized these values as central to their missions,” said Steven McGuire, ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom. “It is time for leaders in higher education to do so. The university’s mission to seek truth, pursue innovation, and cultivate informed citizens can only be accomplished within a culture of free inquiry and open discourse, and Americans deserve a system of higher education that is dedicated to nothing less. Arizona’s universities should seize the opportunity to become national leaders in their commitments to free expression and intellectual diversity.”

“Our college campuses are where knowledge is being created,” said Karrin Taylor Robson, ACTA board member and former member of the Arizona Board of Regents. “If they maintain practices that promote self-censorship and viewpoint intolerance, they hinder the creation of knowledge. The First Amendment, free expression, the ability to argue and debate, discuss, refine, and learn are the nature of education itself. Arizona’s public four-year colleges are making progress toward a more free and intellectually diverse campus experience, and I am proud that the Arizona Regents’ Cup is now a key feature of that educational landscape. Today, as an ACTA board member, I am hopeful that Arizona regents, faculty, administrators, and alumni groups will review the report, study the survey data, and adopt all 20 of the ACTA Gold Standard principles. In that way, Arizona can become a national model for free expression and educational excellence.” 

MEDIA CONTACT: Gabrielle Anglin
EMAIL: ganglin@goacta.org