Forum 53 | Dr. Brian Soucek | Academic Freedom: Dangers and Distractions

November 1, 2021 | UC Davis, Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center Brian Soucek Professor of Law & Chancellor's Fellow University of California, Davis A constitutional law scholar and outgoing chair of the University of California’s systemwide faculty committee on academic freedom, Professor Soucek will argue that some of the most widely discussed current threats to academic freedom—from mandated diversity statements to “cancel culture”—are not especially threatening, at least compared to other dangers that go almost unrecognized and unaddressed even at universities where academic freedom protections are especially robust. As Soucek will explain, confusion about the nature of academic freedom doesn’t just distract us from dangers we face; it is one of those dangers.