38th Academic Chairpersons Conference

What is now known as the Free Speech Movement (FSM) began in 1964 as a series of protests at the University of California, Berkeley. These protests reached their climax on December 2, 1964, when, after a rally featuring the folk singer and activist Joan Baez, students occupied the administration building; leading to the arrest of 773 people. Free speech on university campuses will continue to present significant challenges to academic leaders. As with so many of today’s issues, there is no “one size fits all” strategy that can bring about a perfect accommodation between campus civility and free speech. This presentation is applicable to department chairs who are on the front lines in maneuvering through the challenges inherent in the FSM. Addressing the challenges we as academic leaders all face will require a great deal of compromise, and mutual understanding on the part of students, faculty, and administrators alike if we want to truly free scholarly inquiry while simultaneously creating a culture of respect for those who oppose other peoples’ ideas. This presentation will be highly interactive and include case study scenarios to address these many challenges.