These states are finding creative ways to support free speech on campus

The scenes of ideological intolerance have become all too familiar to Americans. Law students shouting down a federal judge at Stanford Law School. College students protesting the new president of the University of Florida, former Republican U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. Many of our most prestigious colleges and universities have been reduced to ideological monocultures – both inside and outside the classroom.

The electorate’s growing antipathy about the sad state of free speech in America’s college classrooms is not lost on politicians and policymakers.

Realizing the hardened bureaucracies that exist in most public universities, a growing number of governors and state legislatures (mostly led by Republicans) are taking a creative approach to promoting free speech on campus by funding new centers of teaching and learning on subjects ranging from free-market economics to the unique importance of the American founding. 

In the last few months, several states have launched new "institutes" and "colleges" on the campuses of their major state-run universities:

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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the legislature announced the creation of the Hamilton Center on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Initially funded with a $3 million budget allocation, this year the legislature is considering an increase to $10 million for this academic institute, which offers classes in civics and Western political thought. Arguing for the additional support, the funding request notes, "UF’s renewed commitment to civil disagreement/debate in an intellectually diverse community to support/challenge one another."

In February, Republican Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee announced the launch of the new Institute of American Civics, declaring, "In many states, colleges and universities have become centers of anti-American thought, leaving students not only ill-equipped but confused. But in Tennessee, there is no reason why our institutions of higher learning can be an exceptional part of America at its best." Undergraduates will be able to take classes in American civics and related courses.

In January, the University of North Carolina’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to create a new School of Civic Life and Leadership on their flagship campus in Chapel Hill. In the announcement, one of the trustees, Marty Kotis, opined, "You need to be able to take the time to have that dialogue and understand there’s various perspectives out there; that’s the whole point of learning, not just to be in a bubble, but explore outside that bubble." The new school will also offer coursework for undergrads as well as serve as a center for public debates and conversations.

Just a few weeks ago, the regents of the University of Texas, announced the building of an entirely new college on the campus of their main location in Austin, expanding the programs of the existing Civitas Institute – an academic center, "committed to exploring the ideas that sustain a free society" (from the website). In supporting this effort, Texas state Sen. Brandon Creighton noted, "The Civitas Institute will be a leader in research, education and policy based on free markets and individual liberty."

Most recently, the Ohio State Legislature began debate on Senate Bill 117, which would create two new "civics centers" at Ohio State University (a Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society) and at the University of Toledo’s law school (an Institute for American Constitutional Thought and Leadership). State Sen. Jerry Cirino, a bill co-author, was quite clear about his main reason for moving these initiatives forward: "One of the ways to change the structural preponderance of one line of thought is to set institutes like these up to assist our universities in moving forward with more intellectual diversity."

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While the momentum of these announcements is encouraging, it is worth noting that as each of these centers is largely dependent on public funding – the changing of political winds in state capitals could affect the future of these innovations in academic freedom. Witness the recent moves by Arizona’s new Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is seeking to reduce funding to Arizona State University’s respected School for Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL).

What policymakers give, they can also take away, and as we know, elections have consequences. But so do ideas, and these new centers and colleges appear to be durable "safe spaces" for debate and learning.

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