(The Center Square) – All seven of 17 schools examined from the University of North Carolina System ranked among the 58 best in the nation for the 2027 College Free Speech Rankings.
Three others from the state – Duke, Davidson and Wake Forest – were also analyzed. North Carolina is home to 17 public four-year institutions, including a specialized high school, of higher learning and 48 private and nonprofits, the report says.
Appalachian State ranked eighth with a score of 76 and a letter grade of C. The others considered were UNC Greensboro (11th, 75, C), UNC Charlotte (12th, 75, C), East Carolina (15th, 74, C), N.C. State (18th, 73, C), UNC Chapel Hill (31st, 71, C), Duke (50th, 67, D-plus), North Carolina A&T (58th, 65, D), Davidson (63rd, 65, D) and Wake Forest (159th, 59, F).
A year ago, the state made the top 10 led by UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State and N.C. State.
This year, Appalachian’s report said it was top 25 for administrative support, “suggesting students trust the administration to defend free speech.” N.C. State lost two points on its score – enough for 10th, 11th or 12th – when it canceled author Hannah Moushabeck reading from her memoir, “Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine,” because the book didn’t present both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian story.
FIRE, the acronym for Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, based the seventh annual rankings on 63,000 student responses at 261 colleges and universities.
The UNC System schools' Board of Governors has affirmed the pro-free speech Chicago Statement, and a statement on institutional neutrality, FIRE says. The organization said Duke and Wake Forest, if adopting the statements, would improve their speech climate.
FIRE bills itself as a “a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought – the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE recognizes that colleges and universities play a vital role in preserving free thought within a free society. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the individual rights of students and faculty members on our nation’s campuses, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.”
The University of Chicago was No. 1 in the ranking followed by California’s Claremont McKenna College. New York University was in last at No. 261.
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