The College of Staten Island’s Legal Studies Institute continues its Fall 2025 Lecture Series with an engaging and timely discussion on the evolving meaning of academic freedom. The event, titled “Academic Freedom: From Professional Norm to First Amendment Right,” will take place on Wednesday, October 29, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in the Williamson Theater (Room 111) of the Center for the Performing Arts, Building 1P. A reception will follow. The event is CLUE credit certified.

The featured speaker will be David Rabban, a renowned scholar from the University of Texas School of Law, whose research and teaching center on free speech, academic freedom, and higher education law. Rabban served as General Counsel for the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) from 1998 to 2006 and has been a member of the Texas Law faculty since 1983. His most recent book, Academic Freedom, was published by Harvard University Press in 2024.

Joining him for this discussion will be Ashley Dawson, Distinguished Professor of English at the College of Staten Island and the City University of New York, and Michael Paris, Associate Professor of Political Science, Pre-Law Advisor, and Director of the Legal Studies Institute at CSI. Dawson is the author of numerous works, including People’s Power: Reclaiming the Energy Commons (2020), while Paris authored Framing Equal Opportunity: Law and the Politics of School Finance Reform (2010).

Together, the panelists will explore how the concept of academic freedom has evolved—from a professional standard within academia to a central issue of constitutional law—and its implications for today’s higher education landscape.

The event is co-sponsored by the CSI Pre-Law Club, the CSI Student Government Association, and the CSI Chapter of the PSC-CUNY.

For more information, please contact the Legal Studies Institute at CSI, visit their Website.