With its diversity of interests and expertise, our seventh class of Fellows will add to the Center’s rich body of work focused on equipping students, staff, faculty and other higher education professionals with tools and resources to strengthen our communities. This cohort’s research includes explorations of how to protect academic freedom, combat misinformation and reduce values-based polarization in higher education settings.

Learn more about the 2024-2025 class of Fellows and their work by watching this brief video:

Cameron Beatty

Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department, Florida State University

“It’s Still There, But It’s Not the Same”: Understanding the Impact of Anti-DEI and Anti-CRT Legislation on Campus Civic Engagement for Black Student Leaders Navigating Expression

Derron Bennett

Legislative Director, U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

From Capitol to Campus: A Practitioner’s Toolkit for Protecting Academic Freedom in the Face of State and Federal Challenges

Robert Cohen — Senior Fellow

Professor of Social Studies Education, New York University

The Free Speech Movement @60: Reflections on Campus Free Speech 1964/2024

Yi Ding

Faculty and Director of Affordable Learning, California State University, Northridge

Bridging Gaps: AI Civic Literacy Against Political Misinformation

Tara Donnelly

School Librarian, Chicago Public Schools

Supporting Student Information Literacy in an Era of Library Censorship

Susan Haarman & Leslie Watland

Associate Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship, Loyola University of Chicago; Associate Dean of Students, DePaul University

‘Good Faith Speech’: Exploring Meaning Making and Tensions in Free Speech Practices on Catholic Universities

Tara Hudson & Alyssa Rockenbach

Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration, Kent State University; Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development, North Carolina State University

The Promise and Perils of Interpartisan Friendships for Fostering Democratic Learning and Reducing Values-Based Polarization on Campus

Anil Kalhan

Professor of Law, Drexel University Kline School of Law

Privacy, Surveillance, and Academic Freedom

Penelope Lusk

Ph.D. Candidate in the Education, Culture and Society Program, University of Pennsylvania

(No) Shame in Speaking: Resources for Navigating Emotions on Campus