Florida Polytechnic University’s Office of Public Policy Events hosts the panel discussion Guardians of Democracy: Academic Freedom and the Crisis in Higher Education, on Tuesday, Feb. 11. David Fugett, the University’s vice president and general counsel (left) moderates the event. Panelists were Dr. R. Bruce Anderson (seated, from left), Dr. Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Endowed Chair in American History, Government, and Civics and Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Florida Southern College; Dr. Peter Lake, professor of law, Charles A. Dana Chair and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy; and Florida Poly Trustee Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and author of “Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites.”
The Office of Public Policy Events at Florida Polytechnic Hosted its first panel discussion of 2025 on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The event was the third in its Guardians of Democracy series taking place throughout the academic year.
“We hold these events twice a semester so our University community and the public can come together and talk about how we can handle some civil discourse,” said Kelli Stargel, director of the Office of Public Policy Events.
The event, a panel discussion titled Academic Freedom and the Crisis in Higher Education, discussed safeguarding the future of education and promoting a university system that thrives on free thought, debate and discovery. David Fugett, Florida Poly’s vice president and general counsel, moderated the event at the University’s Barnett Applied Research Center.
Panelists were Florida Poly Trustee Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and author of “Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites;” Dr. R. Bruce Anderson, Dr. Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Endowed Chair in American History, Government, and Civics and Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Florida Southern College; and Dr. Peter Lake, professor of law, Charles A. Dana Chair and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy.
Shapiro said higher education institutions can lay the foundation for a civil campus environment before students arrive for their first day as freshmen.
“Send materials that talk about having the courage to speak out and the grace to listen; tell them this is the educational process, and this is how it goes,” he said. “They need to know it’s not about ‘You’re wrong and I’m not going to listen to you.’”
With this as a foundation, a campus community can more easily discuss issues civilly and freely express their opinions, even when they’re uncomfortable, Anderson said.
Lake reminded the audience of students, employees and community members that college students have often led the way toward important changes in higher education.
“We are fundamentally here for you to learn – that is our mission,” he said. “And you students are the most important cogs in the educational wheel.”
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