A group of 13 presidents from several major colleges announced a new partnership Tuesday to promote free expression on their campuses.

The partnership has been dubbed the "Campus Call for Free Expression" and was organized by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, an organization that says it is dedicated to instructing young people on the civic process and on becoming effective citizens.

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The partnership counts the leaders of several of the nation's most prestigious universities. Those participating are the presidents of Claremont McKenna College, the University of Notre Dame, Cornell University, Duke University, James Madison University, Benedict College, DePauw University, Rollins College, Rutgers University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Richmond, Wellesley College, and Wesleyan University.

“Higher education plays a crucial role in preparing our young people to thrive and develop the skills necessary to become empowered citizens and leaders of the future,” Rajiv Vinnakota, the president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, said in a statement. “This diverse coalition of college presidents — from institutions large and small, private and public — is united in its commitment to ensuring students are civically well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy."

The new partnership comes amid continued scrutiny on the commitment on the part of colleges to uphold the principles of free expression. Schools such as Stanford and San Francisco State University have made headlines for incidents where protesters disrupted speaking events by conservatives.

The endeavor is being funded by the Knight Foundation. The participating schools are set to enact new programs to promote free expression on their campuses, ranging from speeches to events and university programs.

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James Madison University, for example, says they plan to partner with the Bipartisan Policy Center to have "free expression training for every incoming first year and transfer student." Similarly, Wesleyan University says they will "integrate discussions of free expression into new student orientation."

Other programs include Cornell's planned "Year of Free Speech" and a similar effort at Benedict College. DePauw University and Rutgers University say they will "focus their annual convocation remarks on the theme of free expression," and the president of Rutgers plans to teach a course on "citizenship, including free expression, through the lens of public institutions."