Opting in: Free expression statements at private universities and colleges in the US

ABSTRACT While all colleges and universities are challenged by questions about free expression in the current environment, private higher educational institutions do so without the constitutional mandate of their public counterparts. Some private colleges and universities have sought to independently affirm their commitment to free speech through statements of principle or purpose. This study explores those statements in an attempt to understand if – and how – free expression is presented as worth protecting in private higher education.