The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released their annual list of “10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech” Tuesday. For the first time, Emporia State has made the list.
FIRE is a national nonprofit dedicated to defending freedom of speech.
ESU’s ranking on the list comes five months after implementing a Workforce Management policy which allowed for the dismissal of 33 faculty and staff members and the removal of tenure protections.
Anne Marie Tamburro, FIRE’s program officer for campus rights advocacy, said ESU’s place on the list was “well-deserved.”
“To put it bluntly, Emporia State’s actions with respect to the new employment framework and eradicating faculty tenure rights are extremely egregious and deserving of a spot on this list,” said Tamburro. “Their response to our attempts to work with them and educate them on why these policies really hurt faculty rights and academic freedom were not well received.”
On October 31, FIRE sent a letter to ESU asking administration for evidence that the Sept. 15 termination of Max McCoy, ESU’s director of journalism, Bulletin advisor and opinion columnist at The Kansas Reflector, had nothing to do with a Reflector opinion article he wrote days before his termination.
Tamburro, who authored the letter, said ESU’s response was the “worst type” of reply the university could have sent to FIRE.
“Their response was extremely disappointing, they dismissed all of the concerns that we brought up,” said Tamburro.
The last time a Kansas college made the list was Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence in 2021, according to FIRE’s website. In 2019, The University of Kansas made the list for an art censorship case regarding local politicians demanding that a student’s “flag art display” be taken down immediately, claiming the art was disrespectful to the American flag.
In a statement to The Bulletin, Gwen Larson, director of media relations at ESU, said the university does not agree with FIRE’s assessment.
“Emporia State University respects and supports every public employee’s fundamental right to engagement in speech and free expression as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. No personnel decision has been made at any time based on any person’s protected personal, professional or political views, expressions or statements,” Larson said in the statement.
Larson said President Hush was unavailable for comment.
Sarah Spicer advises The Bulletin on stories about Emporia State’s framework to dismiss employees.