Promoting Civil Discourse & Intellectual Dialogue Series – Free Speech and Civil Dialogue Today on Campus and in Society

Promoting Civil Discourse & Intellectual Dialogue Series

Free Speech and Civil Dialogue Today on Campus and in Society

This hybrid program will include a discussion about the importance of free speech, civil dialogue, academic freedom and diversity of perspectives in higher education and our society, including the contours of applicable protections. It will contextualize recent high-profile events involving free speech and academic freedom and discuss how social media has impacted our societal discourse and engagement. The program will include time for questions and comments from the audience.

Panelists:

Nadine Strossen:  Nadine Strossen, New York Law School Professor Emerita and Senior Fellow at FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), was President of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1991 to 2008.  An internationally acclaimed free speech scholar and advocate, who regularly addresses diverse audiences and provides media commentary around the world, Strossen also serves on the Advisory Boards of the ACLU, Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the University of Austin.

Coleman Hughes: Coleman Hughes is an author, podcaster and opinion columnist who specializes in issues related to race, public policy and applied ethics. Coleman’s writing has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Quillette, City Journal, The Spectator, and the Washington Examiner. He appeared on Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 list in 2021. In 2019, Hughes testified before the U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee at a hearing on reparations for slavery. In 2024, Hughes released his first book, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America. He has appeared on prominent TV shows and podcasts including The View, Real Time with Bill Maher, the Joe Rogan Experience, and Making Sense with Sam Harris. Hughes is a columnist at the Free Press, and a contributor at CNN

Summer Lopez: Interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer, Free Expression, PEN America

Summer Lopez joined PEN America in 2017, and serves as the chief program officer of Free Expression Programs. In that role she oversees PEN America's advocacy, research, and programming in defense of free expression in the U.S. and globally. Beginning in Nov 2024, she is also serving as interim co-CEO of PEN America.

Lopez has worked to advance democracy and human rights in the nonprofit and government sectors, including for eight years with the U.S. Agency for International Development and three years with The AjA Project, a San Diego-based nonprofit providing participatory media programming for immigrant and refugee youth. She has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, Egypt, Nepal, India, and Ghana, and holds a BA from Harvard University and a master in public affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Moderator:

William A. Herbert: William A. Herbert is a Distinguished Lecturer and the Executive Director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College and a Roosevelt House Faculty Associate.

Prior to joining the Hunter College faculty in 2013, Bill was Deputy Chairperson of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). Before his tenure at PERB, he practiced and lectured on labor and employment law.

He has published book chapters and articles on free speech rights in the workplace and the workplace consequences of social media. His current research is examining negotiated academic freedom provisions in higher education collective bargaining agreements.

Bill is a graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, and the University of Buffalo.