“Belonging to the MIT community is a privilege, not a right, and it comes with the responsibility to treat each other with decency and respect,”
and the letter from the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor reiterated this message.
The most newsworthy development involving free speech and academic freedom nationally was the federal government’s draft Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. The government invited nine universities, including MIT, to comment on the proposed Compact and to accept its terms in return for preferential access to government research funding. Most of the Compact lies outside MFSA’s free speech mission, but two sections directly addressed principles we have long advocated: Section 2: Marketplace of Ideas and Civil Discourse and Section 4: Institutional Neutrality. MFSA issued an assessment of the draft Compact focusing on provisions affecting freedom of expression and academic freedom at the Institute. The MIT Council on Academic Freedom (MITCAF) published a more detailed analysis. Both MFSA and MITCAF agreed with President Kornbluth’s decision not to sign the Compact as written, but both argued that MIT would have benefited from engaging constructively with the government on its higher education policies.
In January 2023, President Kornbluth created the ad hoc Committee on Academic Freedom and Campus Expression (CAFCE) to help implement the faculty’s recommendations accompanying their Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom and to advise the administration on free speech issues. Although originally chartered for one year, free speech incidents at MIT extended CAFCE’s work. CAFCE concluded its mission at the end of 2025 and prepared a final report summarizing its accomplishments and recommending future actions. MFSA will comment publicly on that report once it is released.
On a positive note, FIRE released its latest College Free Speech Rankings, and MIT’s performance improved substantially, both overall and among STEM -focused universities. MIT rose 82 places to rank 82nd among 257 universities evaluated. MIT also ranked 4th among 14 STEM-focused institutions, up from twelfth last year. MIT students also reported a lower propensity to self-censor than students at other universities. MFSA’s detailed assessment of MIT’s performance celebrated these gains while highlighting remaining areas for improvement.
MFSA in the Second Half of 2025
Let me highlight some of MFSA’s accomplishments the second half of the year.
MFSA held its third annual conference
We held our third annual conference on the Thursday immediately preceding Alumni Leadership Conference (ALC). Our conferences convene diverse perspectives on free speech and academic freedom in higher education generally and at MIT specifically. This year’s conference examined how the MIT community is advancing open discourse. Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, addressed whether universities can save themselves. Panels of MIT faculty, trustees, students, and alumni discussed the state of open discourse in their parts of the community and steps they are taking to improve it. Anticipating the federal Compact, another panel of outside experts and members of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard debated whether reforms to campus free speech culture should be driven internally or through government intervention. Videos of all panels are available on MFSA’s YouTube channel. Planning is already underway for our fourth conference before ALC in the fall of 2026.
MFSA co-sponsored another successful debate on campus
In November, we co-sponsored our sixth debate on the MIT campus, which examined whether US colleges are too dependent on international students. Both sides presented evidence-based arguments and modeled civil disagreement. The event drew a strong student audience, and students asked many of the follow up questions. As with our previous debates, recordings on our Youtube channel continue to attract viewers who seek informed, civil discussions of controversial topics.
MFSA provided financial support for campus free speech initiatives
MFSA backs free speech advocates across the MIT community, including through financial support. In the fall, we made a grant to the Concourse program which offers a classic liberal arts curriculum to a select group of first-year students. This grant was made partly through MFSA’s Concerned Donors Fund. This support complemented earlier donations to the MIT Council on Academic Freedom (MITCAF) and to the MIT Open Discourse Society (MODS).
Alumni financial support for MFSA surged
Our members increased their financial support to record levels. A matching campaign in the second half of the year, twice the size of last year’s, helped drive a 38% increase in total donations in 2025. Forty-five percent of 2025 donors were first-time contributors, and the median donation was 67% higher than in 2024. This support makes it possible for MFSA to expand programs that promote viewpoint diversity, freedom of expression, and academic freedom at MIT.
MFSA Objectives for 2026
The MIT leadership and faculty are devoting more attention to navigating new financial pressures and to resisting government encroachments on the Institute’s autonomy and academic freedom. Much of this negotiation is occurring out of public view, and open confrontation appears to have subsided for now. Nonetheless, this tension preoccupies the community and diverts energy from cultural reform. MFSA is working to keep cultural improvement a priority.
Our key objectives for the coming year are:
Continue encouraging MIT to adopt our priority recommendations.
In 2024 we presented MIT with our comprehensive recommendations to strengthen freedom of expression and academic freedom and to reduce self-censorship on campus. Many of these ideas have been adopted by other elite universities and discussed widely in academia and the general sphere. Several also appeared in the federal government’s draft Compact. We continue to press MIT to adopt our priority recommendations, which are:
Adopt institutional neutrality.
In 2025, more universities adopted policies to avoid institutional statements about public issues unrelated to core university functions. Many have drawn on the University of Chicago’s Kalven Report, which argues that such signaling statements pandering to one segment of the university community inevitably chills the speech of others who hold different views. MIT should follow suit and adopt institutional neutrality to encourage genuine viewpoint diversity.
Establish a permanent organization to support freedom of expression.
This recommendation originated with the Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression and remains essential improve freedom of expression. The Committee on Academic Freedom and Campus Expression (CAFCE) served this role well but, as an ad hoc committee, concluded its role at the end of 2025. MIT’s Statement on Freedom of Expression needs a permanent body to keep it visible, help interpret its implications, and develop initiatives to strengthen it. MIT should create an enduring structure for this function.
Explain MIT’s free speech values and policies to students.
MIT must articulate its free speech culture to students and clearly explain its policies on freedom of expression and academic freedom. The Institute should also train its undergraduates in civil discourse and constructive disagreements, with particular emphasis on first year students to help align them with MIT’s values and to integrate them into the MIT community.
Stop administrative policing of protected speech.
MIT still accepts, and even solicits, complaints, including anonymous submissions, about expression that is nominally protected under the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression. The Institute Discrimination and Harassment Response Office (IDHR) and the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS) invite such reports, which automatically create entries in student and employee records without adjudication. This process discourages members of the MIT community from speaking openly and engaging in the discussion, debate and counterspeech that a vibrant intellectual environment requires.
Align administrative staff with MIT’s free expression values.
MIT’s administrative and support staff – roughly 8,000 employees – far outnumber faculty and instructors and have not been immersed in MIT’s culture, especially its commitment to academic freedom, viewpoint diversity, and free expression in the advancement of knowledge. Many staff do not have STEM backgrounds, are unfamiliar with the scientific method, and lack deep knowledge of MIT’s traditions. Yet they participate in and shape campus culture. They need to be included in ongoing efforts to educate the community about MIT’s values and its support for freedom of expression in the pursuit of knowledge.
Continue holding campus events that promote free speech.
MFSA will continue to co-sponsor debates that model civil discourse on contentious issues and that broadens the Overton Window at the Institute. We will hold our fourth annual conference, immediately before MIT’s Alumni Leadership Conference, to explore ways to encourage diverse viewpoints on campus. In addition, we also plan to continue working with faculty and students to co-sponsor speakers who will expand viewpoint diversity and dialogue at MIT. We will also work to co-sponsor such programming with our peer organizations, such as we are doing on February 10 with Harvard Alumni for Free Speech, with whom we’re presenting a virtual discussion with Sarah McLaughlin, author of Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech.
Continue supporting free speech advocacy by MIT faculty and students
MFSA continues its close collaboration with MITCAF, whose members are committed to overcoming faculty self-censorship and increasing faculty comfort with expressing diverse viewpoints. We also continue to support students who champion viewpoint diversity and open discourse, particularly the MIT Open Discourse Society. MFSA hopes to build a constructive relationship with any permanent Institute organization that takes up CAFCE’s former charter.
Expand outreach to MIT alumni
At regional meetings, reunions, and other gatherings, we meet many MIT graduates who are unaware of the Abbot cancellation, the cultural corrosion it reflects and MFSA’s work. Without access to the Institute’s alumni mailing list, reaching these is challenging, particularly those deeply committed to MIT’s singular exceptionalism. Following the successful model of an alumni free speech group at another elite university, we plan to invest in building our own mailing list from public internet sources and to launch sustained, informative outreach to a broader segment of the MIT community.
Cement MFSA’s position as a national example of effective alumni advocacy
MFSA is one of the leading members of the Alumni Free Speech Alliance. We stand out for our constructive relationships with faculty, administration, and students; our campus events; our innovative programs; our membership growth and financial stability; and the quality of our communications. National organizations that focus on free speech, viewpoint diversity and academic freedom in higher education include the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Heterodox Academy, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, the National Association of Scholars, and the Academic Freedom Alliance, among others. Within this ecosystem, MFSA is positioning ourselves to be the leading national example of principled alumni advocacy at a major university.
Closing
MFSA’s overarching goal is to support MIT’s exceptionalism and sustain its leadership in STEM research, education and scholarship. A culture of open inquiry, free expression, viewpoint diversity and academic freedom has long underpinned MIT’s success. In recent decades that culture has eroded, putting a key part of MIT’s success at risk. Led by MIT’s faculty and reinforced by national sentiment, the Institute’s culture is beginning to improve. We are increasingly optimistic that MIT can continue to inspire the world by focusing on science and technology to build a better world. We also recognize that repairing MIT’s culture will be a multi-year campaign.
Thank you for supporting this critical mission. You are part of the largest independent organization of MIT graduates, and your membership gives us the credibility to work constructively with MIT to restore the culture of this great institution.
We rely primarily on the effort and expertise of about two dozen volunteers, and we would welcome more help. Many of our needs require only modest time commitments, so please consider volunteering. We also depend on donations to fund our events and programs. If you believe MFSA is making a positive difference at MIT, please consider making a financial contribution to support our common cause.
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