Washington Attorney General Nick Brown will deliver a free public lecture on academic freedom at the University of Puget Sound on Monday, Nov. 2.
Brown's talk, titled "Protecting the Freedom to Learn," begins at 7 p.m. in Upper Marshall Hall in the Wheelock Student Center, SouthSoundBiz.com reported. A question-and-answer session will follow. The event is open to the campus and the broader Tacoma community.
The lecture will examine what a university press release described as the balance between individual and institutional academic freedom amid public distrust, cultural polarization and shifting government actions. Brown plans to explore the rights of educators, researchers and universities to pursue open inquiry and manage curricula free from institutional censorship, according to the university's event page.
Brown, who grew up in Steilacoom, will also share personal reflections on how his own educational path shaped his career. That path took him from South Sound schools to Morehouse College, then Harvard Law School and eventually the state's highest legal office, according to the press release. His career has included serving as general counsel to the governor and federal leadership roles in civil rights and public safety, the release stated.
The appearance is part of the Susan Resneck Pierce Lectures in Public Affairs and the Arts, a series established in 2002 to honor the university's president emerita. The series brings public intellectuals, writers and artists to campus twice a year, in the fall and spring, and ties classroom and co-curricular activities to each speaker's work.
Pierce served as UPS president from 1992 to 2003. During her tenure, the university's endowment grew from $68 million to $213 million, and the school completed $85 million in new construction and major renovations, according to her university biography.
The lecture is free. Registration is encouraged through the university's event page. Questions can be directed to [email protected].
