Viewpoint diversity on campus: A Heterodox Academy & FIRE panel discussion [UPDATED]

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“What can we do to break this cycle, to reduce the fear, and to help American universities return to their historic missions of education and research?”

That was the question presented by New York University ethics professor Jonathan Haidt at the start of an event at NYU yesterday on campus viewpoint diversity. The event was sponsored by Heterodox Academy, FIRE, and So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast to address some fundamental questions about today’s academy, such as:

• Is the modern college campus suffering from a decline in viewpoint diversity?
• Do American universities prepare students for life in a politically divided democracy?
• And does political orthodoxy reduce the quality of research, scholarship, and education?

Discussing these issues were Heterodox Academy members:

• Mark Lilla — professor, Columbia University; author, “The Once and Future Liberal”
• Nadine Strossen — professor, New York Law School; former president, ACLU
• April Kelly-Woessner — professor, Elizabethtown College; author, “The Still Divided Academy”
• Samuel Abrams — professor, Sarah Lawrence College

The event was moderated by FIRE Communications Director Nico Perrino and livestreamed as So to Speak’s first-ever live event recording.

The discussion will also air on C-SPAN2 on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Other topics discussed during the panel included: defining hate speech, getting students to engage with offensive ideas, and the academic tenure process.

For more, watch our video of the full event and then check out So to Speak's website for more on FIRE's free speech podcast.

UPDATE: This post has been updated to include a link to the So to Speak podcast and information about viewing the event on C-SPAN2. It was originally posted Oct. 11.