Phi Beta Kappa: Member Institutions' Speech Codes

Case Materials

• "FIRE Asks Phi Beta Kappa to Hold Members Accountable for Speech Codes," FIRE Press Release, November 30, 2005: Earlier this year, the Phi Beta Kappa Society made national headlines by rejecting George Mason University's application for membership after GMU cancelled a speech by filmmaker Michael Moore. FIRE is publicly urging this prestigious honor society to stand by its professed commitment to academic freedom and freedom of inquiry by taking action against its member institutions’ many speech codes.
• "Phi Beta Kappa Guidelines on 'How to Form a Chapter'," November 29, 2005
• "FIRE Letter to Phi Beta Kappa Secretary John Churchill, November 29, 2005," November 29, 2005
• "Washington Post Article on Denial of Request for Phi Beta Kappa Chapter at George Mason University, March 1, 2005," March 1, 2005
• "Washington Post Article on Michael Moore's Speaking Invitation Being Rescinded, October 1, 2004," October 1, 2004
• "Academe Article by Former Phi Beta Kappa Executive Secretary Douglas W. Foard, November/December 2001," November 1, 2001

Media Coverage

• "Commentary & News Briefs," Jim Brown, Agape Press, December 2, 2005: FIRE's legal director Greg Lukianoff says just about every school that has a Phi Beta Kappa chapter maintains some kind of speech code, many of which are what FIRE grades as "red light" speech codes.
• "FIRE criticizes honor society," Benjamin Jones, The Badger Herald (UW-Madison), December 1, 2005: The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education criticized the honor society Phi Beta Kappa Tuesday, citing the society’s inconsistent policies regarding freedom of expression.
• "Free-Speech Group Questions Phi Beta Kappa's Commitment to Academic Freedom," Sara Lipka, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 30, 2005: A free-speech group has put the Phi Beta Kappa Society on the spot by accusing it of an inconsistent commitment to academic freedom.
• "Quick Takes," Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, November 30, 2005: The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is calling on Phi Beta Kappa, the honor society, to start demanding that its member colleges drop speech codes that limit what students and faculty members can say. While Phi Beta Kappa has spoken out about academic freedom, it has not gotten involved in debates over speech codes.