As academic freedom and freedom of expression become flashpoints on college campuses nationwide, Stetson University will host a national expert March 26 to speak about the importance of free inquiry and expression.
Tony Banout, Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, will give a talk entitled “Why is Wrongheaded, Immoral, and Offensive Speech Protected on Campus and Constitutionally?”
The event will take place March 26 at 5 p.m. in the Warren and Barbara Carr Stetson Room in the Carlton Union Building. The event is free and open to the public.
Banout is a longtime advocate for ideological diversity and inclusion in academia. He served as co-editor for the 2024 book, “The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression,” which explores the University of Chicago’s tradition of free expression and offers a blueprint for higher education and broadly for society.
The talk is part of the Free Inquiry & Expression and the Future of Democracy Series at Stetson, which is exploring timely and pressing topics during the spring semester. The series reaffirms Stetson’s formal commitment to free expression, which is outlined in the university’s Statement of Principles of Free Expression, adopted in 2019.
“Since that time, as academic freedom and freedom of expression have become especially contentious on college and university campuses, Stetson has been recognized for our unwavering commitment to civil discourse and free expression,” said Elizabeth Skomp, PhD, Stetson’s Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Explained John Downey, PhD, Vice President of Campus Life and Student Success at Stetson, “We want to be an institution that students look at as the place where they can learn how to have difficult conversations in a civil manner. That’s really important to Stetson.”
Banout has spoken and published widely on free expression, constructive engagement of difference, and the civic relevance of religious diversity. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School and has served in leadership in healthcare, community organizing and academia. For over a decade, he served as the senior vice president for Interfaith America.
The event is supported in part by the University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression.
