The 40th Annual Jefferson B. Fordham Debate
DATE: Thursday, November 20 2025
TIME: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm MT
LOCATION: College of Law and Virtual Event
40th Annual Jefferson B. Fordham Debate
Institutional Neutrality and Other Academic Freedom Controversies: Should Universities Stay Silent or Take Stances on Social and Political Issues?
DEBATE DESCRIPTION:
A record number of universities have recently announced—by either adopting a policy or affirming the principles of institutional neutrality—that they will stay silent on social and political controversies. Several states, including Utah, have forced their public universities to adopt policies of institutional neutrality.
Proponents of institutional neutrality argue that it is an essential condition of academic freedom because university statements on issues of the day chill the speech of faculty and students with dissenting views. Opponents contend that institutional neutrality is used to selectively punish and shut down speech as well as to mask inherently value-laden institutional decisions (such as investment decisions).
U.S. universities have navigated unprecedented changes under the Trump administration, which has expanded Title VI oversight; sought to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; revoked student visas and sought to deport students; increased taxes on university endowments; issued subpoenas for student records; and expressed an intent to withdraw federal funding from a number of elite universities. The question of whether institutions should be neutral—and what “neutral” means—lies at the heart of a larger debate about how universities should maneuver these new academic freedom controversies.
The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law will host a debate to consider the merits, drawbacks, and dimensions of institutional neutrality and related academic freedom issues.
ABOUT THE DEBATERS:
Jameel Jaffer is the inaugural director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which was founded by Columbia University and the Knight Foundation in 2016 to promote the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age. He previously served in various leadership positions at the American Civil Liberties Union, ultimately overseeing the organization’s work on democracy, free speech, privacy, technology, national security, and international human rights. He has argued human rights and civil liberties cases in multiple appeals courts as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, and has testified many times before the U.S. Congress. His recent writing has been published in New York Review of Books, the New York Times, and the Guardian.
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 serves on the advisory boards of the ACLU and several academic freedom/free speech organizations. She is the Host and Project Consultant for Free To Speak, a 3-hour documentary film series distributed on public television in 2023. Her most recent book is: The War On Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail (coauthored with FIRE President Greg Lukianoff) (2025).
Moderator:
RonNell Andersen Jones, Lee E. Teitelbaum Chair and Professor of Law, the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
Co-sponsored by the Voices for Liberty Initiative
The Fordham Debate is named in honor of Professor Jefferson B. Fordham, an outstanding legal scholar and defender of individual and civil rights who joined the University of Utah College of Law faculty in 1972. The annual debate addresses relevant contemporary public policy and legal issues.
For questions about this event email events@law.utah.edu.
SUBSCRIBE to the S.J. Quinney College of Law event lists to stay current on upcoming College of Law events. You may unsubscribe at anytime.
The S.J. Quinney College of Law is pleased to provide free CLE opportunities for attorneys. All donations welcome to support our programs.