Alumni take action at Macalester College

Alumni at Macalester College are making big moves to promote free expression at their alma mater.

Macalester, a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, recently received a generous, multi-year pledge from John Adams (Class of 1974), who now serves as a superior court judge in Orange County, California. Adams is supporting Macalester’s Dialogue Across Differences initiative, a suite of programs aimed at promoting the free exchange of ideas. Adams’ gift will fund training to help faculty facilitate productive disagreement in the classroom.

His support for Macalester builds on the work of the Macalester Alumni of Moderation, of which he is a member. The “Mac Mods” have spoken out about free speech concerns at their alma mater since 2006. They are one of the oldest pro-free speech alumni organizations in the country.

Adams was dismayed by the infamous shout down of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan at Stanford Law School, where Adams completed his legal studies. He wanted to do more to fight back against the troubling anti-free speech trends gripping America’s elite campuses — including Macalester.

“Liberal arts colleges should encourage robust debate,” Adams said, “where students can probe conventional wisdom or question orthodoxies without being pilloried or worse. I love Macalester, and I want to see it thrive, which is why I’m investing in the future of viewpoint diversity and free expression at the college.”

Stanford Law students shout down 5th Circuit judge: A post-mortem

News

Students at Stanford Law School disrupted a student-organized event featuring a federal appellate judge.

Read More

Adams was impressed when he found Macalester was already taking steps to promote free speech. The college recently established its Dialogue Across Differences initiative to help students and faculty engage civilly with a wide variety of viewpoints, and Adams is thrilled to help this program grow.

Macalester President Suzanne M. Rivera has repeatedly spoken about the importance of viewpoint diversity. “One of my highest priorities,” she said, “is to ensure all members of this community feel included and all voices can be heard — even the ones that challenge or upset us.” 

These are welcome developments on a campus with its fair share of challenges to freedom of expression.

In 2023, students complained that an on-campus exhibit featuring the artwork of an Iranian-American feminist perpetuated “harm.” Macalester kept the exhibit open but obscured gallery windows and added a content warning to prevent “unintentional” or “non-consensual” glimpses of the art.

What’s more, Macalester ranks 184 out of 251 in FIRE’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings, with 86% of surveyed Macalester students saying that shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is at least rarely acceptable. 46% say the same about using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus.

Macalester College

St. Paul, MN

School Ranking

184 of 251

Speech Code

Red

Free Speech Climate

Overall score: 41

More Info

And yet Macalester’s rank reflects improvement, up from 211 last year. The percentage of surveyed students reporting that the administration clearly protects free speech increased over the same period, as did the percentage of students saying the administration would likely defend a controversial speaker’s right to express their views.

The Dialogue Across Differences programs and Rivera’s statements likely account for these encouraging signs.

Hopefully, Macalester continues this trend, and FIRE is here to help. Our Alumni Network is equipped to offer guidance, strategic support, and resources tailored to empower reform efforts on campus. 

Together with committed leaders like Adams and the Mac Mods, we can build a culture where open debate and free expression are truly valued, setting a precedent for colleges and universities nationwide.