Academic freedom is an ever-evolving concept that includes higher ed instructors’ freedom to research and publish, to discuss relevant issues in the classroom and to express views without censorship or discipline by their employers. While it isn’t always extended to students beyond their right to learn, it’s related to the spirit of free speech traditionally associated with campus life.

Pittsburgh’s Public Source has launched a new series, “Gagging Academia: The right to teach, debate and protest faces a high-stakes challenge in Pittsburgh’s universities and beyond.” The series begins with an overview of local academic freedom history, but the topic has never been more current. President Donald Trump’s administration is aggressively engaging with higher ed in ways that could reshape research, classroom content, enrollment and student speech.

Pittsburgh hasn’t escaped the tumult. We want your input.

Your responses will inform reporting in this series. Please fill out the form below or reach out directly to reporter Maddy Franklin at madison@publicsource.org or @maddyfranklin.10 on Signal.

Optional
Optional
Optional

Coverage of higher ed by Pittsburgh’s Public Source is in partnership with Open Campus.


More in this series


Help us continue telling stories like this one.

We’re Pittsburgh’s Public Source, an independent, nonprofit newsroom. That means we rely on donations from readers like you to help us report accurate, timely and impactful stories for the Pittsburgh region — available to everyone without paywalls.

Everyone deserves access to credible information to understand and help shape the region they call home, which is why we work hard everyday to deliver fact-checked stories on education, environment, health, local government and more.

We've seen our journalism prompt widespread change in the Pittsburgh region — but none of it would be possible without the support of our community. If you found this story valuable, consider "paying it forward" by making a gift today.

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.