The Chicago Principles at Ten Years

The University of Chicago's Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression was released in January 2015. The statement, which became known as the Chicago Principles, was quickly heralded as the preeminent articulation of a university commitment to campus free speech. Affirming the University of Chicago’s foundational values, the Chicago Principles have been adopted by more than 100 colleges and universities seeking to uphold free inquiry and expression within their institutions. They have been both championed and criticized, internally and externally. Ten years after their release, the higher education landscape resembles and differs from the environment in which they were developed. Yet free expression on campus remains at the center of contemporary discourse.

To mark the Chicago Principles’ 10th anniversary through free inquiry and expression, the Chicago Forum hosted “The Chicago Principles at Ten Years: University Free Expression Then, Now, and Tomorrow” at the David Rubenstein Forum on January 31, 2025.

Lead support for the Chicago Forum’s Zell Speaker and Event Series comes from the Zell Family Foundation.