In 1967, University President George Beadle appointed a faculty committee—chaired by First Amendment scholar Harry Kalven Jr.—to prepare “a statement on the University’s role in political and social action.” The resulting report articulates the University’s commitment to institutional neutrality. By abstaining from speech about political and social issues, the report says, the University allows its individual members the fullest freedom of expression.

Journalist Jamie Kalven, Harry Kalven Jr.’s son, sat down with the Maroon to walk through the Kalven Report. In the 14 years he spent editing his father’s manuscript on the First Amendment and the American tradition of freedom of speech, Jamie Kalven reviewed hundreds of Harry Kalven Jr.’s papers to familiarize himself with his father’s thinking.

Providing context on his father’s writing, Jamie Kalven argues that we, now in a moment of attacks on academic freedom and higher education, should return to “the point of departure” provided by the document.

An annotated version of the 1967 report based on our conversation can be found here.

Hosted by: Anushree Vashist, managing editor and Celeste Alcalay, Grey City editor

Edited by: Celeste Alcalay, Grey City editor and William Kimani, Podcasts co-head editor