BY HANK REICHMAN

On December 10, I had the pleasure of participating in a fantastic and timely program in the University of California (UC) National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement’s 2021 “Speech Spotlight Live” series.  “Is Academic Freedom Under Siege?” featured Sigal Ben-Porath, Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the 2017 book, Free Speech on Campus; Brian Soucek, UC Davis Law professor, former chair of the UC system academic senate committee on academic freedom, and 2020-21 Center Fellow; and me.  The hour-long program is now available at the Center’s YouTube channel and accessible below.

Contributing editor Hank Reichman is professor emeritus of history at California State University, East Bay; former AAUP vice-president and president of the AAUP Foundation; and from 2012-2021 Chair of AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. His book, The Future of Academic Freedom, based in part on posts to this blog, was published in 2019.  His Understanding Academic Freedom has recently been published.