The Numbers Show That MIT Has a Free-Speech Problem At this world-leading research institution, 40% of faculty say they self-censor more than in 2020. By Daryl Morey
Twenty-one years as an executive in the National Basketball Association has taught me to start with the data when confronted with a problem. Now, I am asking my alma mater to do the same on the important issue of free expression.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has suffered several embarrassing incidents regarding free speech in recent years. These include the cancellation of Prof. Dorian Abbot’s John Carlson Lecture on climate change in October 2021 and the institution of a March 2022 policy that students may not ask others to wear masks.
The data point to a growing problem: According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, MIT ranks an abysmal 181st out of 203 universities when it comes to students’ belief that the administration will protect their speech rights. FIRE reports that the mistrust extends to MIT faculty: 38% say they don’t believe the administration would defend a speaker’s rights during a controversy. Forty percent of MIT faculty said they were more likely to self-censor as of summer 2022 than they had been before 2020. Among students, 41% aren’t confident in the administration’s ability to protect controversial speech. Those are disheartening statistics for one of the world’s best research institutions.
If MIT faculty, who are at the cutting edge of science and technology, can’t count on their employer to defend open inquiry, it might prevent them from taking innovative risks. This, in turn, would stymie technological progress and the education of the next generation of innovators.
To use an analogy from my profession, MIT’s refusal to protect the free speech of faculty and students is like asking players to shoot long 2-point shots despite the benefit of taking riskier but more valuable 3-point shots. Protecting free speech inherently involves risk. If faculty and students are free to speak their minds at MIT, there will be times when people are offended. But by coupling free speech with a culture that encourages perseverance, empathy and a willingness to discuss controversial ideas, those apparent offenses can become valuable lessons.
I was a student at the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1998 to 2000. A culture of open inquiry existed during my time there. It helped me develop skills that have been critical to success in my career and life. Among other things, I learned to question long-held assumptions, to use data to address problems with novel solutions, and to speak the truth—even if it sometimes gives offense. Given the reported state of speech at MIT today, I question whether students are experiencing the discomfort and risk necessary to navigate the real world or developing the courage to speak their minds when it matters.
To ensure continued innovation and global leadership, MIT President Sally Kornbluth should endorse the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. The statement, released in June and adopted by the faculty on Dec. 21, is the culmination of MIT’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Free Expression. The group was commissioned in January 2022 by then President Leo Rafael Reif to review free-speech policies and propose policy changes.
The statement calls on MIT to embrace its tradition of “provocative thinking, controversial views, and nonconformity.” While community has the right to expect “a collegial and respectful learning and working environment,” the institution “cannot prohibit speech that some experience as offensive or injurious.” The statement affirms that debate and “deliberation of controversial ideas are hallmarks of the Institute’s educational and research missions and are essential to the pursuit of truth, knowledge, equity, and justice.”
A resounding public endorsement of the statement from Ms. Kornbluth would make it clear to current and future faculty and students that speech will be protected by the university.
To maintain its status as one of the finest research and educational institutions in the world, MIT must make a strong public commitment to free expression. This will ensure the institution’s continued dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, innovation and science.
Mr. Morey is president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers and a co-founder of the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
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