The Presidential Task Force on Free Expression
March 28, 2024
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
Brandeis University was founded in 1948 in response to quotas in higher education that kept Jewish students out of many of the country’s elite institutions. Seventy-five years ago, the university broke barriers, not just in admitting Jewish students turned away from other universities, but in recruiting and making a home for high-achieving students and faculty regardless of background. We are proud of this history of openness, which has been at the core of our vibrant community, and which, by design, leads to spirited debate, discussion, and the critique of ideas.
The University’s Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression were adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2018. Given the passage of time, the changes that we have all witnessed and experienced in academia as well as in society, and our dedication to rigorous self-examination, we are at an appropriate juncture to conduct a review of these Principles and how university policies and procedures relate to them. This has been the subject of a motion passed by our faculty and I have consulted with Faculty Senate leadership with respect to the charge and the membership of the task force. I have also received nominations from other groups on campus. Accordingly, I am convening the task force of faculty, staff, students, and trustees listed below and asking them to:
1) Examine our current Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression and make recommendations for changes or improvements.
2) Review the processes and protocols Brandeis uses to apply these Principles to our academic and co-curricular activities, and make recommendations for changes or improvements.
The task force is expected to engage in information gathering, examine applicable law and regulation, consider policies and practices at other universities, and participate in civil and respectful discussion and debate among its members. I am asking the task force to submit its recommendations to me no later than December 31, 2024.
The task force members are:
- Chair: Kate Moran
- Faculty: Linda Bui, Karen Donelan, Shai Feldman, Anita Hill, David Katz, Don Katz, Dan Oprian
- Undergraduate Students: Mona Houjazy ’26, Shai Goldberg Kellman ‘26
- Graduate Student: Nathanial Walker
- Trustees: Barbara Dortch-Okara '71, David Harris P'05, H'22, Marjorie Hass
- Staff: Steve Locke, Dvora Pemstein, Mel Ptacek
I sincerely appreciate the task force members’ willingness to participate in this critical undertaking. I encourage members of our community to show patience and respect as this group grapples with difficult issues in an effort to foster an open, civil, and secure environment for the pursuit and creation of knowledge.
Sincerely,
Ron Liebowitz