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Outside speakers and intellectual diversity
A recent story in the Indianapolis Star details the Butler University faculty senate's quick dismissal of a student proposal to invite John Roberts, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to be this year's commencement speaker. The story indicates a range of possible rationales for the decision. Some, including the president of the senior class, believe faculty members objected to Chief Justice Roberts' ideology. Others, including the president of the Faculty Senate, point to a putative "no politicians" policy at commencement. And at least one faculty member has claimed that it takes several years to award an honorary degree, which would have ostensibly gone hand-in-hand with an invitation to speak at commencement.
Sadly, it is too late for Butler's Class of 2010 to have the opportunity to hear the Chief Justice. But Butler's trustees can make this sad affair into a teachable moment by reviewing the procedures for inviting outside speakers and awarding honorary degrees and reinvigorating the institution's commitment to intellectual diversity, as we suggest in a letter we sent to the board today.
There are few campus issues more urgent than protecting the free exchange of ideas. All institutions would do well to review the admonition of the faculty committee chaired by the distinguished historian C. Vann Woodward: "Above all, every member of the university has a special obligation to permit free expression in the university. No member has a right to prevent such expression. Every official of the university, moreover, has a special obligation to foster free expression and to ensure that it is not obstructed."
The Butler Board of Trustees should ensure that -- whatever happened here -- Butler has a comprehensive speaker policy that protects academic freedom as well as ensuring that students have access to a wide variety of views, so they can make up their own minds. If it does not, the board should work with the administration and faculty to craft one. We suggest that the board also consider other steps enumerated in our 2009 report, Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on March 17, 2010 at March 17, 2010 09:43 AM
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