Free Speech in Higher Education: A Conversation with FIRE on Institutional Integrity and Mission:...

Описание: In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Sean Stevens, Chief Research Advisor at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The discussion focuses on what it takes for presidents, boards, and senior leadership teams to preserve open inquiry and viewpoint diversity on campus under intensifying political and social pressure, and why higher education’s mission depends on the ability to argue different perspectives without fear of sanction or retaliation.



What you’ll gain from this episode:



✓ Governance Lens on Free Speech: How campus speech controversies have become a board-level issue, not a student affairs problem.



✓ What FIRE Is Seeing Nationally: The current pattern of speech conflicts and why pressure now comes from multiple directions.



✓ Self-Censorship as Institutional Risk: How fear of reputational, professional, or social consequences quietly narrows classroom and campus discourse.



✓ Disciplined Pluralism in Practice: What it looks like when a campus can sustain disagreement without fracturing trust or community.



✓ Institutional Neutrality Done Right: How leaders can address major events without signaling that certain political viewpoints are institutionally preferred.



✓ Protected Speech vs. Professional Judgment: Why leadership must defend lawful expression while reinforcing expectations for intellectual seriousness.



✓ Teaching Students to Argue, Not Perform: How to re-anchor learning in evidence-based reasoning, civil disagreement, and exposure to competing ideas.



✓ Practical Leadership Moves: The policy, communication, and culture steps presidents and boards can take to protect open inquiry.



This episode provides valuable insights for presidents, board members, and senior leaders committed to protecting open inquiry while strengthening the intellectual culture of their institutions.