SUNY New Paltz To Host Discussion on Academic Freedom

NEW PALTZ — A Conversation on Academic Freedom, a conference at the State University of New York at New Paltz, will take place on Thursday, April 30 and Friday, May 1. The two-day program is an outgrowth of discussion which occurred following two fall events on the campus, both of which raised issues of free speech and academic freedom.

A Conversation on Academic Freedom will bring together scholars who have published and spoken on these issues. Moderating the April 30 program will be Louis Menand. Menand is a member of the English department at the City University of New York Graduate Center, a contributing editor of the New York Review of Books and the editor and lead contributor to The Future of Academic Freedom, published in 1996 by the University of Chicago Press. He is also the vice president of the PEN- American Center.

The focus of the panel discussion will be on academic freedom and the question of what limits, if any, should be placed on it. Panelists will be Herbert London, John M. Olin professor of humanities at New York University; Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a professor of law at the New York Law School; and Carole S. Vance, an associate research scientist in public health and director of the medical anthropology program at Columbia University.

The April 30 session will be held in Lecture Center 100 beginning at 7:00 pm. It is open to the public. The May 1 student, faculty and staff discussion groups will not be open to the public. These discussions will be led by two of the panelists from the previous evening and Fred Siegel, professor of history and humanities at The Cooper Union for Arts and Sciences. Siegel will be among those present for the Thursday evening public presentation and discussion. Also assisting with the Friday discussion groups will be several faculty members and representatives from the student body. The May 1 discussion groups for students and others will convene in Lecture Center 100 at 10 a.m. The sessions for Faculty will convene in Lecture Center 100 at 1:30 p.m. There will be a reception for all participants, sponsored by UUP, at 4:30 p.m.

Additional Background

Herbert I. London was the 1990 Conservative Party candidate for Governor of New York State. In 1994, he was the Republican Party candidate for New York State comptroller. London, a social critic whose work has appeared in major newspapers and journals, is also a frequent guest on television and radio programs. He is the author of 15 books and the first recipient of the Peter Shaw Award for exemplary writing on higher education and American intellectual culture. London is also president of the Hudson Institute, a think tank with headquarters in Indianapolis.

Nadine Strossen has lectured and practiced law extensively in the areas of constitutional law, civil liberties and international human rights. She became the first woman to be elected president of the ACLU, the nation’s largest and oldest civil liberties organization, in 1991. Her book, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women’s Rights, published by Scribner, in 1995, was named a notable book of the year by The New York Times. Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, published by New York University Press, in 1995, was named outstanding book on human rights by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. The National Law Journal named Strossen one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America,” in 1991 and 1994.

Carole S. Vance is director of the Program for the Study of Sexuality, Gender, Health and Human Rights funded by a four-year (1997-2001) Rockefeller Foundation Institutional grant. Prior to that she was the recipient of a four-year grant from the Ford Foundation to study sexuality, health, and policy. Her book, Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, won the Distinguished Books Award from the Association of Women in Psychology in 1985. She has served on the editorial boards of several journals and has published extensively on issues such as sexuality, gender and pornography.

Fred Siegel is a senior fellow at The Progressive Policy Institute, in Washington, D.C. He is the author of three books, the most recent, The Future Once Happened Here: New York, D.C., L.A., and the Fate of America’s Big Cities, published in 1997 by The Free Press, and numerous book chapters. His articles and essays have appeared in many publications such as The New Republic, The New Democrat, Commonweal and Dissent. He was a weekly columnist on urban affairs for the New York Post in 1994 and 1996.