Tony Banout and Tom Ginsburg: Why Institutional Neutrality Matters

Tony Banout, Executive Director, and Tom Ginsburg, Faculty Director of the University of Chicago’s New Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression join Steve McGuire, ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom, to discuss institutional neutrality — the idea that universities should not take official positions on social and political controversies. While explaining how this position supports the truth-seeking purpose of the university and free expression on campus, they also explore its history at the University of Chicago, tracing it from the 1967 Kalven Report to the University’s founding. Finally, they discuss various exceptions to the rule and times when universities might be obligated to speak up, even while adhering to a general policy of institutional neutrality.