Dear OU Community,
The freedom to speak, inquire, and express strikes at the heart of any great institution of higher learning. These First Amendment rights not only form the bedrock of American democracy, they are inseparable to our university’s mission as a scholarly community, where bright minds converge in the unbridled pursuit of truth.
This year, the University of Oklahoma will again join the national celebration of Free Speech Week, a non-partisan event held each year during the third week of October. The coming days will feature a variety of programming to commemorate Free Speech Week – a complete listing of activities is available at ou.edu/freespeechweek. Among these events is our Free Speech Week keynote discussion on Monday afternoon, with former ACLU President, New York Law School Professor Emerita, and constitutional law expert Nadine Strossen. You can learn more about Professor Strossen and her upcoming visit here.
To better understand why celebrating Free Speech Week at OU is so important, I invite you to take a moment to view the video below this message.
Fulfilling our university’s obligation to advance society by educating future generations of leaders and discovering new knowledge demands that OU remains a place that encourages robust discourse and the unyielding search for truth. Simultaneously, we must never abandon our responsibility to treat each other with dignity and respect, even when we fundamentally disagree. It is only by remaining committed to these ideals that we can find common ground and achieve progress together – not just at OU, but everywhere.
Live On, University,
Joseph Harroz, Jr.
President
