News

Headshot of Tony Banout

On the evening of Monday, November 10, Tony Banout, PhD '12, delivered the 2025 Presidential Lecture at Clark University. As the inaugural Executive Director of the University of Chicago's Forum for Free Inquiry & Expression, he has consistently shown his commitment to limiting government impositions on free speech and the importance of ideological diversity and inclusion in higher education. 

"A bedrock principle of free speech is that the laws permitting and protecting it must be viewpoint neutral. Free speech means freedom for airing views we may find utterly detestable; otherwise, it is not free speech. All of us can and should denounce views we find offensive, immoral, or simply wrong. But, to deny the right of another to express such views is not, first and foremost, about one's disagreement; it is about the structure of democracy," Banout said, Monday night.

Following the lecture, Banout contributed to a discussion that explored topics such as cancel culture, creating spaces where free speech and disagreement can safely coexist, and the issue of academic freedom. 

If you missed the live lecture, you can watch the recording here.