California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) welcomed staff, faculty, students, and community members to an Academic Freedom panel hosted by the Kegley Institute of Ethics (KIE) on Thursday evening. Panelists discussed the meaning of academic freedom and how it applies to the CSUB campus community.
Moderator Dr. Joseph Florez, a professor in the Religious Studies department, opened the discussion by emphasizing the importance of holding conversations about academic freedom.
“There are some very important conversations around academic freedom happening throughout the country today,” Florez said. “They are very situational and contextual. If you have opened the Chronicle or Inside Higher Ed in the last twelve months, hardly a day goes by without some type of development centered around discussions on academic freedom and free speech. A part of the importance behind the mobilization of this panel was to think about what those conversations look like here with our demographics and the population we serve.”
One question posed to the panel asked what academic freedom means to them.
“For me, academic freedom means that I, as an expert in my field, have the right to decide what is relevant as a research question and what body of work I might read or involve in my research and in my classroom,” said Dr. Tiffany Tsantsoulas, assistant professor of philosophy at CSUB. “I hope that our policies make that clear—that the institution grants me that responsibility and the right to choose what is and is not relevant in my classroom.”
Other panelists echoed Tsantsoulas’ perspective.
“I don’t disagree with anything there,” said Dr. Zachary Zenko, assistant professor of kinesiology. “It’s the freedom to choose what we research. Hopefully we approach it rigorously, because that is our responsibility as well.”
Dr. Dirk Horn, a professor of political science, added that while he does not believe CSUB engages in institutional censorship, broader challenges to academic freedom still exist.
“I agree there is not really institutional censorship occurring on this campus, which is a good thing,” Horn said. “But there is government censorship happening in higher education right now with access to grants and scrutiny—particularly at Ivy League institutions—regarding what types of research and classes are being offered. That is a violation of academic freedom at the highest level of government, as it violates not only First Amendment principles but also the principles of academic freedom.”
Panelists also discussed how universities can protect First Amendment rights when speech becomes harmful or disruptive.
“It’s a fine line that we have to walk because inclusivity is for everyone—it’s not just for certain groups of people,” Horn said. “You have to make sure that everyone feels welcomed in the classroom, and it’s a very difficult thing to do nowadays. It’s not easy, but it’s a skill that we all need to develop.”
Panelist Amanda Grombly, a librarian at CSUB, agreed.
“One of the things we’ve lost in recent years is our ability to be civil and our ability to talk and acknowledge that everyone’s going to have differing opinions,” Grombly said.
As the event came to an end, panelists reiterated that academic freedom remains essential to the pursuit of higher education. By holding this panel, the main goal was to emphasize that universities like CSUB play an important role in fostering much-needed dialogue.
