A bill grants the governor full control over the board of trustees at Indiana University. Photo by Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University is once again among the worst colleges in the country for free speech, according to a new report released Tuesday, Sept. 9 by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

The group’s 2026 College Free Speech Rankings placed IU in the bottom three out of 257 schools surveyed.

FIRE, a nonprofit civil liberties organization that advocates for academic freedom and free speech, annually surveys college undergraduates nationwide about perceptions of their First Amendment Rights on campuses.

The new report placed IU at No. 255 with an overall score of 43.87 — out of 100 — and a failing grade of F. Only Barnard College and Columbia University ranked as poorly.

In contrast, Purdue University placed second overall, with a score of 76.24 and a speech climate grade of C. DePauw University also ranked in the top 20 nationally, finishing 18th with a score of 71.13 and a grade of C-.

The University of Notre Dame fell in the bottom half of the rankings at No. 238, with a score of 50.42 and a failing grade.

A ‘Chilling Effect’ On IU’s Campus

FIRE officials said in a news release that the lowest-rated schools “are home to restrictive speech policies and some of last year’s most shocking anti-free speech moments.”

The report singled out IU for what FIRE called a “visible force and invisible voices” chilling effect.

FIRE pointed to events on IU’s campus last spring as a major driver of its poor ranking.

Administrators adopted a new policy banning the construction of unauthorized structures in a late-night meeting — just hours before students began setting up a pro-Palestinian encampment. The following day, the university called in state police, who placed snipers on the roof of the student union.

“The incident sparked widespread concern among students, contributing to IU’s poor performance in this year’s rankings,” the FIRE report noted.

Roughly a third of IU students said they self-censor in conversations with peers, professors and in classroom discussions, and a majority additionally reported feeling “uncomfortable expressing their views on a controversial political topic” either in class or in a public campus space like the quad, dining hall or lounge, according to the report.

Student survey responses described fear of administrative retaliation.

One IU student said, “Our administration at Indiana University has publicly and repeatedly silenced students that speak out on controversial topics. I am afraid that I would get retaliation from the administration in terms of a lawsuit, a ban from campus, and expulsion from the university.”

IU also performed poorly across FIRE’s subcategories: 251st on administrative support, 255th on openness, 246th on self-censorship, and 227th on comfort expressing ideas.

Only 23% of IU students said it is “very” or “extremely” clear that the administration protects free speech, while nearly half said administrators were “not at all” or “not very” likely to defend a speaker’s rights during a controversy.

Other Indiana Schools

The rankings are based on surveys of more than 68,000 students across the country. FIRE’s new report showed that 166 of the 257 schools surveyed got an F for their speech climate, while only 11 schools received a speech climate grade of C or higher.

It’s not the first time IU has landed near the bottom of the annual free speech census. Last year, the Bloomington school ranked 243rd out of 251, also near the bottom. Before that, in 2024, IU ranked 225th.

Nationally, Purdue University fared far better in the latest report than its in-state counterpart.

FIRE ranked the West Lafayette flagship campus second in the country this year, behind only Claremont McKenna College. Other top-ranked schools included the University of Chicago and Michigan Technological University.

Other Indiana institutions were not included in the 2026 report.

Last year, DePauw University placed 36th and the University of Notre Dame 167th. Purdue was also in the top 30.