The Common Room: What the Biden Administration can do for Free Speech and Inclusion on Campus

Higher education is just one among a vast number of priority areas for the new Biden administration, but issues of free speech and inclusion are sure to feature in whatever steps they take. What should they undertake, what should they prioritize, what should they undo, what should they revise? With Miguel Cardona slated to replace Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, what can the higher education sector expect with regard to diversity training, student clubs, religious rights, and academic freedom? Join Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America’s campus free speech program, for an interactive forum to discuss these questions and possible responses from the higher ed sector. Friedman will be joined by guests Joe Cohn, legislative and policy director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE); Lara Schwartz, professional lecturer in the Department of Government and director of the Project on Civil Discourse at American University; and Roger Worthington, professor and executive director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education at the University of Maryland (UMD).