University of Chicago’s position is a cause for personal celebration, not just because it is my alma mater but more importantly because it is the school leading the fight to preserve free speech on our campuses. As we discussed earlier, the University of Chicago has rejected the trend toward speech codes and microaggression sanctions. Harvard here) and Yale (here and here) have seen some of the most disconcerting examples of this highly damaging trend. The “Chicago Principle” has become a rallying cry for those of us who fear that American academia is losing the core commitment to free speech and academic freedom. However, for top students who want a world-class education AND free speech, there is an obvious choice. Also other schools like Purdue have aligned themselves with the cause of free speech in adopting the Chicago Principle.
Here is the new rankings:
2017 U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings
1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. University of Chicago (IL) (tie) — Yale University (CT) (tie)
5. Columbia University (NY) (tie) — Stanford University (CA) (tie)
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
8. Duke University (NC) (tie) — University of Pennsylvania (tie)
10. Johns Hopkins University (MD)
11. Dartmouth College
12. California Institute of Technology (tie) — Northwestern University (tie)
14. Brown University
15. Cornell University (tie) — Rice University (tie) — University of Notre Dame (tie) — Vanderbilt University (tie)
19. Washington University in St. Louis
20. Emory University