Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is once again being recognized for upholding policies that maintain free speech and First Amendment protections.

For the tenth consecutive year, MSU has earned a “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), an organization that promotes the individual rights of students and faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities. MSU is among 58 institutions receiving the green light rating, which is awarded to universities with strong free speech protections in campus policies and procedures.

“Allowing the free exchange of ideas is vital to any institution of higher learning, and I’m proud that members of the MSU community can freely express themselves with all of the protections provided by the First Amendment,” said Dean of Students and Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success Thomas Bourgeois. “We have an ideologically diverse community, which allows students to engage in conversations that broaden their perspectives.”

Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, FIRE works to promote freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality and religious liberty.

For more on FIRE’s Spotlight on Speech Codes 2022, visit https://www.thefire.org/resources/spotlight/reports/spotlight-on-speech-codes-2022/.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.