My latest paper is up, forthcoming in the Maryland Law Review Online

Download the paper here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5393356

Here is the abstract: Academic freedom is both a constitutional right and a professional value that belongs to professors, students, and institutions.  These various dimensions of academic freedom may conflict with each other and with democratic will outside of the institution.  Resolving these conflicts must begin with an understanding of what it means to be academic. Views differ on what belongs in the academic enterprise, but the pursuit of truth and knowledge must be fundamental to any definition of what is academic.  The open-minded search for descriptive or philosophical understanding separates academics from other ideological groups, journalists, politicians, or others who do not merit academic freedom.  

Currently, threats to academic freedom from across the political spectrum are distorting the classroom environment, altering the scholarship produced by professors, and leaving students unexposed to the process of true academic inquiry. As a current example, attempts to both foster and dismantle policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion by institutions and by the Biden and Trump administrations have placed universities in a partisan battle that threatens their legitimacy.  Restoring this legitimacy requires prioritizing values related to process-based intellectual exploration and negotiating the difference between protected speech and unprotected conduct.