Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Princeton professors lead new alliance for free speech

Princeton professors lead new alliance for free speech

The Academic Freedom Alliance is “committed to providing defense to members of the organization if they find themselves in a free speech or academic freedom controversy,” according to politics professor Keith Whittington.

The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA), a nonprofit organization “dedicated to upholding the principle of free speech in academia,” was launched on Mar. 8. Several Princeton faculty members are in its ranks of membership and leadership.

At the helm of the organization as Academic Committee Chair is Keith E. Whittington, a politics professor and author of the Class of 2022 pre-read “Speak Freely.” Also serving on the academic committee are philosophy professor Lara Buchak, James Madison Program Director and politics professor Robert P. George, and electrical and computer engineering professor Alejandro Rodriguez.


In an interview with The Daily Princetonian, Whittington said the AFA is “committed to providing defense to members of the organization if they find themselves in a free speech or academic freedom controversy.” The group has already secured millions in funding, according to reporting from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The membership consists of over 200 members from various universities across the nation, including 26 current or former University faculty members from a range of disciplines.

Prominent University affiliated members include bioethics professor Peter Singer and Professor Emeritus Cornel West GS ’80. The group’s membership also includes classics professor Joshua Katz, who is currently suing the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) for “viewpoint discrimination.”

Whittington said that the organization was originally intended to be much smaller, with only a few dozen members from select universities.

“We realized that there was a lot of interest,” he explained, “and a willingness to join and support [the organization].”

Both Whittington and the organization’s homepage emphasize that the AFA does not exist to serve only one type of professor.

According to their website, AFA “members from across the political spectrum recognize that an attack on academic freedom anywhere is an attack on academic freedom everywhere.”

The AFA consists of three primary groups: the academic committee, the organization’s decision-making body; the legal advisory counsel, a team of lawyers and various counsellors dedicated to supporting members; and the senior staff, who direct the organization.

Betsy Kulkarni is a member of the senior staff, acting as the director of academic affairs. For a decade, Kulkarni previously served as the program manager for the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions in the politics department.

The goals for the AFA are to protect academic freedom as outlined in a 1940 address made by the American Association of University Professors.

The statement outlines three components of academic freedom: the protection of performing research and publishing its results, the protection of teaching within the classroom, and the protection of free speech outside of the classroom — in any public forum.

Several other members of the Princeton community were integral in the formation of the AFA, according to Whittington. For example, Whittington noted, Professor of Physics Shivaji Sondhi “came up with the idea to have a legal defense fund.”

Whittington also acknowledged George’s work in helping the group stay organized and Brandice Canes-Wrone ’93, Professor of Politics and Public and International Affairs, as being “so helpful in recruitment.”

Mathematics professor Sergiu Klainerman, who has outspokenly opposed rhetoric about systemic racism from within and beyond the University, “proposed the adoption of the Chicago Statement and was involved in early conversations,” according to Whittington.

At Princeton, Whittington said he believes the administration protects a healthy environment for academic freedom.

“President Eisgruber has been unusually vocal in his defense of these principles,” he said. “Most university presidents prefer not to talk about these issues.”

Amid conversations surrounding free speech on campus last summer, President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 published an op-ed in the ‘Prince,’ where he wrote that universities must “remain steadfastly devoted to both free speech and inclusivity.”

“Princeton has a strong policy protecting free speech,“ he continued. “It applies very broadly, encompassing academic inquiry, peaceful protest, ordinary conversation, and online discussion. The University permits speech that is unpopular, provocative, controversial, wrong, or even deeply offensive.”

In his annual State of the University letter, Eisgruber emphasized that recklessly expressing offensive or false ideas is “utterly inconsistent with scholarly ideals,” but continued to advocate for meeting falsehoods “with better speech, not with censorship, suppression, or punishment.”

Whittington also mentioned that the adoption of a portion of the Chicago Statement into “Rights, Rules, Responsibilities” in April 2015 supplemented the academic freedom on campus significantly.

According to the University website, the statement’s inclusion was intended to affirm “the University’s commitment to the principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression as essential to the University’s educational mission.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×