The College Fix

‘What role should anonymity play in our freedom of speech?’ one professor said

The University of Chicago received a $100 million anonymous gift to advance the school’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression. The donation came almost exactly one year after the launch of the forum in October 2023.

The Forum’s mission is to “promote the understanding, practice, and advancement of free and open discourse, at the University of Chicago and beyond,” according to its website.

The donation will be an endowment to support the Forum and its promotion of free expression at UChicago.

The Forum has hosted events and initiatives with the stated intent to bring together students, faculty, a diverse range of guests, and higher education leaders and educators to promote free inquiry and expression.

The $100 million donation was given entirely anonymously— a choice that UChicago history Professor Rachel Brown told The Fix is “not unusual for large donations, including gifts made to the University of Chicago for fellowships and other programs.”

However, Professor Brown raised concerns about the importance of knowing the sources behind financial contributions.

“The main concerns I have seen raised about the gift have to do with its anonymity,” she said in an email. 

“What role should anonymity play in our freedom of speech? It is a topical question, given the concerns raised about bots and anonymous accounts on our social media,” the professor said. 

“At what point is it important to know where the money comes from that funds our institutions of higher education, not to mention the media, entertainment, and politics? That is the main question I see the donation raising immediately,” she said.

Meanwhile, Professor Tom Ginsburg, the faculty director of the Chicago Forum, had a different opinion on the anonymity of the donor.

“The donor preferred that the focus be on the University and its tradition rather than themselves. It’s extraordinary, as very few people with that level of means would do such a thing,” he told The Fix in an email.

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Ginsburg said he is hopeful for the future of the Forum given higher education’s current “state of crisis.”

“We hope it will help to deepen the student experience but also to impact the national conversation,” he said.

“Universities have not managed themselves well and we are in a state of crisis. Returning to core values of small-l liberalism and inquiry is the only way forward in my view,” Ginsburg said.

Professor Ginsberg and Professor Brown are both members of a free speech faculty group on campus called UChicago Free. According to its description, the organization, which includes over 50 professors, aims “to preserve the unique intellectual environment of the University of Chicago.” The group values “curiosity, open inquiry, free expression, and debate.”

Alex Morey, vice president of Campus Advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said she supports the Forum in an email statement to The Fix.

“The University of Chicago has always been a leader in free speech policy. The Forum has been doing great work moving those efforts forward on its campus and beyond,” Morey said.

“In a moment when there are so many worthy causes, it’s always encouraging to see someone put this type of money toward free expression — which benefits all of them,” she said.

The College Fix reached out to UChicago Turning Point USA and College Republicans chapters via Instagram and email in the last week to ask about the climate for free speech and conservative viewpoints at the school, but did not receive a response.

UChicago’s student government committee rejected Turning Point USA’s request for recognition on campus last year, claiming it was too similar to the existing College Republicans group. FIRE criticized the decision, arguing it undermines free speech by limiting the diversity of conservative viewpoints. 

However, TPUSA was encouraged to apply the following year and was eventually recognized as a registered student organization.

When the free speech Forum launched in October 2023, Professor Brown told The Fix she expected it to face challenges since “they do not address the causes for this culture head-on (i.e. actual differences of opinion on goodness, beauty, truth and their source).”

A few of the Forum’s past events include “Speaking About Israel, Palestine, and International Law,” “Affirmative Action Overturned,” “Defending Civil Liberties in Hyper-Partisan Times,” and “The Aftermath of October 7: Student Fears and Free Speech.”

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IMAGE: UChicago College Admissions/Youtube

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