Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
| Foundation for Individual Rights in Education | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Philadelphia, Pa. and Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Top official: | Greg Lukianoff, President and CEO |
| Founder(s): | Alan Charles Kors and Harvey Silverglate |
| Year founded: | 1999 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Promoted policies | |
| Civil Liberties Policy | |
| Budget | |
| 2014: | $7,401,750 |
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is an organization whose work concerns university students and faculty members the organization considers to have been discriminated against by administrators and the government while promoting values such as free speech, academic freedom, and due process.[1]
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which describes itself as "the only organization devoted exclusively to defending the fundamental freedoms of students and faculty members," has offices in Philadelphia, Pa., and Washington, D.C.[2]
Mission
The organization describes its goals and values in the following way:[1]
| “ | The mission of FIRE is to defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience—the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. FIRE’s core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.[3] | ” |
History
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 who still serves on the organization's board of directors. The organization was formed following the publication in 1998 of Kors and Silverglate's book The Shadow University: The Betrayal Of Liberty On America's Campuses.[1]
Work
Individual Rights Defense Program
The Individual Rights Defense Program (IRDP) provides assistance to individuals who consider themselves to have experienced civil liberties violations on college campuses. Cases may be submitted by university students, professors, or campus groups who feel that their constitutional rights have been violated. According to FIRE's website, this program combines "outreach to administrators, the strategic use of publicity to generate public attention and pressure, and, when necessary, the coordination of legal counsel and action in the courts." FIRE claims to have secured hundreds of victories in these cases, and its online case archives can be viewed here.[2]
Policy Reform Project
The Policy Reform 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. The group then highlights them publicly with a featured "Speech Code of the Month" and an annual speech code report. The project also produces legal research and amicus briefs on key cases, attempting to influence both university and government policies.[2]
Free Speech Litigation Project
The Stand Up For Speech Litigation 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. The project works to produce legal precedents and policy changes as well as to generate media coverage and public awareness of free speech issues on campus.[2] The project website can be accessed here.
The FIRE Student Network
According to its website, the FIRE Student Network (FSN) "works to safeguard liberties on campuses nationwide by generating on-campus reform, spreading awareness among students and faculty members on campus, and petitioning administrators for change." FSN provides student activists with resources, such as FIRE's Guides to Student Rights on Campus, and funds an annual conference, summer internships, campus speakers, and outreach programs. Members of the student network attempt to influence university policies and practices through campaigns, publications, and even litigation.[2]
Public Awareness Project
Through "media engagement, multimedia and podcasts, social media outreach, and print publications," the goals of the Public Awareness Project are "to educate the public about the state of liberty on our nation’s campuses," to increase awareness of and discussion about campus issues, and to generate public pressure for reforms.[2]
Leadership
Greg Lukianoff, an attorney specializing in First Amendment and constitutional law, is the president and CEO of FIRE. Attorney Robert Shibley is the organization's executive director.[4] As of June 8, 2016, the board of directors of FIRE included the following individuals, according to the organization's website:[5]
- Daniel Schuman (Chairman), Fund manager, MSD Capital
- Harvey Silverglate (Co-founder), Counsel, Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP
- Barbara Bishop, Attorney, New York, N.Y.
- Anthony Dick, Attorney, Washington, D.C.
- Richard Losick, Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Harvard College
- Joseph Maline, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Professional Services, immixGroup
- Marlene Mieske, Board member, Fountain House
- Daphne Patai, Professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- Virginia Postrel, Author
- Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Finances
| Annual revenue and expenses for FIRE, 2011-2014[6] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2014 | $7,401,750 | $4,188,282 |
| 2013 | $3,119,177 | $3,318,604 |
| 2012 | $2,136,390 | $2,339,744 |
| 2011 | $2,319,326 | $2,137,216 |
Media
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education” FIRE. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 FIRE, "Mission," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 FIRE, "Programs," accessed June 9, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ FIRE, "Staff," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ FIRE, "Board of Directors," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ FIRE, "Annual Report & Form 990," accessed June 9, 2016
| |||||||
