Today marks the beginning of Free Speech Week across our country. Here on the Forty Acres, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate and reflect upon our constitutional freedom to speak, and to appreciate the key role this freedom plays in our University’s educational and research missions. With that in mind, I hope you will take time to experience one of the many events happening across campus this week. Some will explore the moral and legal foundations of free speech. Others will put those freedoms into action in the form of civil debate about critical issues such as the future of energy policy or the pros and cons of vaccine mandates. Whether you can attend one of those events or not, I hope you’ll make some time to watch this video outlining the practice of free speech on our campus and how it applies to you.
This week’s variety of speakers and topics is the result of a concerted effort across campus, but not out of the ordinary for life on the Forty Acres. During the first half of October alone, UT has hosted prominent speakers from across the political spectrum, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Many of our faculty members, student organizations, colleges, schools, research centers, and institutes are part of this, as they bring diverse points of view to campus as part of their regular efforts. Last week, we witnessed the role free speech plays in coping with world events, as many in our campus community gathered in public forums to seek solace and understanding around the horrifying events in the Middle East. These activities are supported by policy, as well — last year, the UT System affirmed our unwavering commitment to free speech by formally adopting the principles of the Chicago Statement on Free Speech.
We are not resting on our laurels. Our 10-year strategic plan, Change Starts Here, emphasizes the importance of fostering “free and open discourse to enhance knowledge and understanding” as part of the initiative area, Elevating Our Culture. To implement that vision, Bobby Chesney, dean of the UT School of Law, has convened a task force to recommend actions to deepen our commitment to free speech to increase its impact through our research and teaching missions. Among other things, we will be taking a fresh look at how we share and discuss these principles as we introduce new faculty, staff, and students to our campus community. We also will conduct our first-ever comprehensive survey to assess students’ understanding of and experience with freedom of thought and expression on campus, with an eye toward understanding where the University might be able to improve. And we will make new investments supporting research relating to these principles and their connection to academic freedom.
The phrase “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” is inscribed on the Tower building for a reason. Professor William Battle, who chaired the building committee when the Tower was built, wrote about that choice:“Truth and freedom are so essentially the foundation of education, character, and progress that the injunction to seek truth as a means to freedom is as splendid a call to youth as we can make.” A campus that seeks the truth as a means to freedom is characterized by embracing and celebrating free speech, open discourse, and respectful engagement with differing viewpoints. This is true not just during Free Speech Week, but every week.
Hook em!
