In UC Davis Forums Talk, Professor Soucek Examines Threats to Academic Freedom
On Nov. 1, Professor Brian Soucek delivered the lecture “Academic Freedom: Dangers and Distractions” as part of the UC Davis Forums on the Public University and the Social Good series.
Soucek, outgoing chair of the University of California’s systemwide faculty committee on academic freedom, argued that some of the most widely discussed current threats to academic freedom – from mandated diversity statements to “cancel culture” – are not especially threatening. Or at least not when compared to other dangers that go almost unrecognized and unaddressed even at universities where academic freedom protections are especially robust.
[Watch a video of Professor Soucek’s lecture]
The UC Davis Forums distinguished lecture series (formerly The Provost's Forums) is designed to promote informed and thoughtful dialogue among members of the campus community and the public about the serious challenges facing the public university, ways of responding to those challenges, and how the public university is evolving. With an ultimate goal of helping to produce a public university that will best serve society and individuals, this series poses the following question: What should and can the public university be in the 21st century?
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan, director and series sponsor of the UC Davis Forums, offered a welcome message before Soucek's talk. Former Provost Ralph Hexter introduced Soucek. Hexter and UC Davis Law Professor Raquel Aldana are part of the series' 2021-22 Steering Committee.
Established by the Office of the Provost in 2012, the UC Davis Forums series presents about six lectures by distinguished visiting and/or resident speakers each year, often in conjunction with a panel discussion by UC Davis faculty and always including a period for audience questions and comments.
Professor Soucek’s primary teaching and research interests are antidiscrimination law, civil procedure, constitutional law, and refugee/asylum law. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Mark R. Kravitz in Connecticut, and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Professor Soucek is a UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow.