Case Western Reserve University: Student Organizations Required to Align Mission with the University’s Core Values

In September, Case Western Reserve University imposed a new requirement that student organizations and their third-party affiliates “align” their missions with the university’s core values including academic excellence and impact, inclusiveness and diversity, integrity and transparency, and effective stewardship.

The requirement forces student groups to conform their mission to the institution’s preferred values rather than their own consciences, which cannot be squared with CWRU’s own free expression policies. On October 15, FIRE publicly called on CWRU to rescind the requirement.