Campus Freedom Initiative™
Free expression is the necessary precondition for the unfettered search for truth on the college campus.
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
An ACTA Report Card on Free Expression
ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) has evaluated universities in several states against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™, a 20-point action plan for reestablishing higher education’s commitment to excellence and open inquiry. Below we present the University of Mississippi Gold Standard evaluation. Ole Miss receives credit for nine out of twenty Gold Standard measures. Our research highlights Ole Miss strengths in protecting free expression and identifies areas it must work on to improve the student experience. Explore the full Ole Miss Gold Standard evaluation to learn more.
ACTA Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™| COMMIT TO A CULTURE OF FREE EXPRESSION | Ole Miss |
|---|---|
| Adopt the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a similarly strong statement. | No evidence of Ole Miss adopting the Chicago Principles or a similar statement could be found. |
| Establish clear expectations regarding free expression in student and faculty handbooks and codes of conduct. | |
| Include a free expression unit in new-student orientations. | Ole Miss officials confirmed that at this time, there is no free expression unit in new student orientation. |
| Protect the diversity of political viewpoints by adopting an institutional neutrality policy such as the Kalven Report. | No evidence of Ole Miss adopting an institutional neutrality policy could be found. |
| FOSTER CIVIL DISCOURSE | Ole Miss |
| Sponsor campus debates that model civil discourse. | |
| Promote free expression by encouraging the establishment of student groups devoted to free expression, civil discourse, or representing a plurality of perspectives. | |
| Establish policies that protect free expression rights on campus and set clear consequences for disruption of sponsored speakers, events, and classes. | |
| Enforce policies that protect free expression rights on campus and apply clear consequences for disruption of sponsored speakers, events, and classes. | |
| Cultivate Intellectual Diversity | Ole Miss |
| Encourage presidents, provosts, and deans to model respect for a broad range of viewpoints. | Evidence that Ole Miss meets this measure is insufficient. |
| Guarantee that viewpoint diversity is reflected in student life policies and practices. | |
| Support academic centers dedicated to free inquiry and intellectual diversity. | |
| Ensure faculty hiring, evaluation, and promotion processes are based on merit and make clear that the institution is open to intellectual diversity. | Ole Miss’s tenure and promotion policies emphasize merit-based evaluation, and no reviewed job postings referenced DEI. However, no job postings make it clear that the institution is open to intellectual diversity. |
| Break Down Barriers to Free Expression | Ole Miss |
| Eliminate speech and IT policies that have a chilling effect on free expression. | |
| Ensure that enforcement of Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX does not infringe on free expression. | |
| Disband bias response teams. | Although Ole Miss’s Bias Education Response Team website affirms free expression, it still encourages students to report perceived bias, which can chill free expression. |
| Review student government policies to ensure viewpoint neutrality in student group recognition and funding. | No materials showing Ole Miss meets this measure could be found. Requests to university officials for such materials remain unanswered. |
| Advance Leadership Accountability | Ole Miss |
| Include commitments to free expression in mission statements, values statements, strategic plans, and other key institutional documents. | Evidence that Ole Miss meets this measure is insufficient. |
| Include a commitment to free expression as a criterion in searches and evaluations for presidents, provosts, and deans. | A dean position profile we reviewed did not contain a commitment to free expression. |
| Require free expression and viewpoint diversity training for administrative staff. | No materials showing Ole Miss meets this measure could be found. Requests to university officials for such materials remain unanswered. |
| Conduct regular surveys or other quantitative studies of students and faculty to assess the state of free expression and intellectual diversity on campus. | No materials showing Ole Miss meets this measure could be found. Requests to university officials for such materials remain unanswered. |
WHO WE ARE
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.
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