Geoffrey Stone is the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law and former Provost of the University of Chicago, and former Dean of its School of Law. He headed Chicago’s task force on Campus Free Speech, which created the widely influential Chicago Statement on Freedom of Expression (2015). In recent years, American colleges and universities have experienced a series of often quite serious challenges to the fundamental principles of academic freedom and free expression, as speakers have been disinvited, events have been disrupted, and some instances have even led to physical attacks. In this talk, Professor Stone will trace the history of academic freedom in our nation, explore some of the reasons for the recent controversies, present an approach to these issues, and suggest avenues to explore going forward.

Free event