Campus Free Speech

Campus Free Speech

PEN America champions free speech on college campuses

Free speech has become a flashpoint on U.S. campuses, and since 2016, PEN America has responded by producing go-to resources like our Campus Free Speech Guide and facilitating Campus for All workshops for faculty, staff, and students nationwide. We work to ensure campuses are open to all ideas and people. In our workshops for universities, and in our advocacy, we encourage campuses to robustly defend free speech and open inquiry at the same time that they advance principles of diversity and inclusion.


Our Campus Free Speech Guide

This go-to resource for faculty, staff, and students provides practical, principled guidance for how campuses can best remain open to all voices.


Our Campus For All Workshops

Developed by a diverse team of higher education professionals, our workshop offerings cover the basics of free speech and academic freedom and provide tools and tactics on campus for all members of the campus community.



News

  • Cancellation of Naval Academy Lecture by Ruth Ben-Ghiat at Behest of Republican Politicians Threatens Institutional Autonomy

    Friday October 25
  • Wake Forest University Leaders Should Reverse Decision to Cancel Oct. 7 Lecture by Palestinian-American Scholar-Activist

    Friday October 4
  • PEN America Criticizes Cancellation of Oct. 7 Vigil at University of Maryland

    Thursday September 19

Blogs

  • PEN America Free Expression Advocacy Institutes Train the Next Generation

    Monday September 16
  • In Preparing for Protests, Are Campuses Going Too Far?

    Wednesday August 28
  • Campus Protests Then and Now: How Today’s Encampments Echo History

    Tuesday July 16

Bring PEN America to your campus!

In addition to our Campus for All workshops, our team is also available for conference presentations, keynotes, and panel discussions. For more information, get in touch with us at campusfreespeech@pen.org.

Our Experts