Thursday, April 27, 2017

Earlier this week, the New York Times ran an op-ed piece about campus free speech written by Ulrich Baer, a faculty member who is also a vice provost. Because the piece was signed using both titles, a number of faculty have asked me whether the piece represented the views of the University.

The author is as entitled as any other faculty member to express his views. But let me resolve any ambiguity: he was expressing his personal views -- as he himself would hasten to clarify -- and the piece did not represent NYU's view on free speech. 

The University's position is that the free exchange of ideas is a bedrock principle. If students or faculty invite a speaker to campus, that speaker will be permitted to speak, period. The only exceptions -- and they should be rare -- will be if the event cannot be conducted safely.

Katherine Fleming
Provost
New York University