The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE): Championing Free Speech and Individual Liberties
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, stands as a prominent non-profit civil liberties group dedicated to defending and sustaining individual rights at America’s colleges and universities. FIRE's mission encompasses the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity, including freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience.
Origins and Evolution
FIRE was founded in 1999 by Alan Charles Kors, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvey Silverglate, a Boston-based civil liberties attorney. Kors and Silverglate co-authored a 1998 book opposing censorship at colleges following the water buffalo incident at the University of Pennsylvania. Silverglate had served on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts. Kors served as FIRE's first president and chairperson. Initially focused on protecting freedom of speech on college campuses, FIRE broadened its scope in June 2022 to address freedom of speech issues throughout American society, officially changing its name to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression while retaining the acronym FIRE.
Core Programs and Activities
FIRE advances its mission through a variety of programs and activities:
- Individual Rights Defense Program (IRDP): This program provides assistance to individuals who believe they have experienced civil liberties violations on college campuses. University students, professors, or campus groups can submit cases for consideration. Now known as the Campus Rights Advocacy project, it continues to provide assistance to students, professors, and campus groups who have experienced civil liberties violations. In 2022, FIRE successfully intervened in cases involving a Georgetown University student who was suspended for posting tweets that some found offensive, a Linfield University professor who was investigated for personal social media posts, and an Eckerd College student group that was denied recognition due to “problems” with its leader’s social media posts.
- Policy Reform Project: This project focuses on systematically changing and eliminating university and government policies that violate the rights of students and faculty members. FIRE communicates directly with campus administrators and student organizations about policies they consider to be repressive, highlighting them publicly with a featured "Speech Code of the Month" and an annual speech code report. In the first half of 2022, FIRE’s Policy Reform Project affected twelve policy changes on campuses across the country. These reforms include improving harassment policies at Barnard College, abolishing a harassment policy at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, and revisions to the IT acceptable use policy at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
- Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project: This project uses coordinated First Amendment lawsuits to target and challenge college speech codes and government policies that the organization believes endanger student and faculty rights. FIRE files lawsuits against colleges and universities that it perceives as curtailing First Amendment rights of students and professors. In 2022, FIRE’s Litigation Project challenged unconstitutional policies at Collin College, claiming a former professor was fired for criticizing the college in the press. The project also obtained several favorable settlements in 2022, including in for an unlawful termination for protected expression, a student group denied recognition based on viewpoint, and a professor who was fired for making controversial remarks.
- Campus Free Speech Ratings: FIRE rates colleges with a red, yellow, or green light based on its assessments of speech restrictions, with a red light meaning that a college policy "both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech." Since 2006, the group has rated hundreds of public and private higher education institutions. In 2020, FIRE created a database to monitor free speech controversies that developed at two- and four-year nonprofit institutions.
FIRE in Action: Case Studies and Interventions
FIRE has been involved in numerous cases defending free speech and due process rights on college campuses. Some notable examples include:
- University of Delaware (2007): FIRE criticized a mandatory program for students living in dormitories at the University of Delaware, likening it to "thought reform."
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh: FIRE opposed university practices that required student journalists to submit their questions ahead of time or seek permission from the school before interviewing university employees.
- Security Fees for Controversial Speakers: FIRE has opposed security fees some campuses charge to groups which host controversial speakers.
- Diversity Statements: In 2023, FIRE released a survey that asked 1,500 college faculty for their views on the use of diversity statements. Half of the respondents said they are "a justifiable requirement for a job at a university", while the other half claimed they are "an ideological litmus test that violates academic freedom", including 90 percent of conservative faculty.
- Hosty v. Carter: FIRE joined with a number of other civil liberties groups in the case of Hosty v. Carter, involving suppression of a student newspaper at Governors State University in Illinois.
- Arizona State University: FIRE condemned the listing of certain sections of a class as open only to Native American students.
- University of New Hampshire (2004): FIRE sparred with the University of New Hampshire over its treatment of student Timothy Garneau, who was expelled from student housing after he wrote and distributed a flier joking that female classmates could lose the "freshman fifteen" by taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Valdosta State University (2007): FIRE supported T. Hayden Barnes, who was expelled from Valdosta State University after protesting against the construction of two new parking garages on the campus. The expulsion was overturned, and a court found VSU to have violated Barnes's due process rights.
- Temple College (2008): FIRE defended college professor Kerry Laird, who was ordered by Temple College to remove the quote, "Gott ist tot" (God is Dead), from his office door.
- Eastern Virginia Medical School (2021): FIRE filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of an Eastern Virginia Medical School student who said his free speech rights were violated when the school denied recognition to a club that he was trying to establish because it supported universal health care. The school settled the lawsuit in March 2022.
- University of Washington: Later in 2022, the organization helped Stuart Reges, a professor of the University of Washington's Allen School of Computer Science, sue the school in Reges v.
- Brandeis University: FIRE criticized Brandeis University for disciplining politics professor Donald Hindley for mentioning the slur "wetback" in class during a discussion about racism toward Mexican-American immigrants.
During campus protests over the Gaza war, FIRE representatives have said that colleges and universities can enact "reasonable time, place, and manner" restrictions but they must be applied in "a content viewpoint neutral manner."
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Funding and Structure
FIRE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While FIRE does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the John Templeton Foundation ($2.5 million in 2016), the J. P. Humphreys Foundation ($1.15 million in 2019), and the Charles Koch Foundation ($1 million in 2019). FIRE has received funding from groups which primarily support conservative and libertarian causes, including the Bradley Foundation, Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the Charles Koch Institute, although it receives donations from across the ideological spectrum. Among its other donors is the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation. Jack Dorsey also contributed to the organization through his #startsmall initiative.
FIRE is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with another office in Washington, D.C. As of August 2025, FIRE has an annual budget of more than $32 million and a team of 120 employees, including a litigation department of about 20 lawyers. Staffers include progressives, libertarians, and conservatives. FIRE’s donations from individuals and foundations increased from $7.2 million in 2015 to $36.5 million in 2024.
Key staff members include:
- Greg Lukianoff: President and CEO, First Amendment attorney, and co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind.
- Nico Perrino: Executive Vice President.
- Will Creeley: Legal Director.
- Robert Shibley: Executive Director
FIRE's Advisory Council includes Ira Glasser, former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Nadine Strossen, former ACLU President, is a Senior Fellow.
FIRE's Broader Impact and Recognition
FIRE has emerged as a significant voice in the national debate over free speech and academic freedom. FIRE has been described as a competitor of the ACLU. The organization's work has been featured in major media outlets, and its leaders are frequently called upon to comment on First Amendment issues. FIRE's consistent defense of free speech principles, even when unpopular or controversial, has earned it both praise and criticism.
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