On February 16, I shared an electronic letter with the campus community calling attention to the fact that Dr. William Ayers will be the guest lecturer for the University’s annual education lecture on March 19, 2009.  I indicated the invitation was extended by the School of Education’s Academic Cultural Enrichment Committee (a faculty committee), and the speaker’s expenses are funded through private dollars.  Since that time, the upcoming appearance of Dr. Ayers has generated a public controversy that has been a recurring story in the local print media and elsewhere, including demands by some local legislators and others that his appearance be cancelled.  As University President, I believe it is important to reiterate the message I initially conveyed to the campus community, respectfully, that the University has a responsibility not to yield to those demands.

My message acknowledged that there may well be divergent opinions within the University community about Dr. Ayers’ appearance.  On the other hand, many alumni and key external stakeholders have staunchly defended the University’s responsibility to select and host speakers, citing the very important role of America’s universities serving as a marketplace of ideas.  It should not be lost in any discussion of his invitation to speak on urban education that neither the University nor its donors necessarily endorse the background or views of campus speakers, including Dr. Ayers.  Also, my communication was clear that while I personally reject any form of violence and strongly disagree with Dr. Ayers’ past actions and statements, I adamantly support the right of the faculty committee to invite him to share his knowledge and research findings on urban education with our students and faculty.

One of the core guiding principles of Millersville University (embodied in the strategic direction, Cultivating a Community of Diverse People, Thoughts and Perspectives) is that we will continually renew the University as a place where inquiry is encouraged, ideas are expressed openly, and the dignity and rights of all individuals are respected and protected.  It is within that context that this lecture will occur.

A long-accepted value in higher education is that free inquiry is indispensable to the advancement of knowledge.  History is replete with examples of ideas that are now precepts of human knowledge that were initially suppressed because their authors were considered heretics or radicals.  The focus of the faculty committee, which more than a year ago invited Dr. Ayers to speak, was to advance the dialogue about effective ideas and successful approaches for closing the educational achievement gap between urban students and their non-urban counterparts.  This selection was made devoid of political litmus tests for authors.  From an objective standpoint, what should matter are which ideas and approaches work and not who develops them.

Free inquiry and free speech are critical elements of academic freedom, which thoughtful Americans from our founding fathers to U.S. presidents and Supreme Court justices, more than 200 years later, have judged essential to preparing students to be productive citizens.  University administrators have the obligation to support academic freedom in the academy just as public officials are obliged to support free speech in a democratic society.  The protection of academic freedom is necessary to afford faculty and students the right to consider and weigh the value of ideas from all sources.

There are some who have asked the reasonable question whether Dr. Ayers is the best person we could have invited as a spokesperson on this topic.  During the 18 years of this lecture, the University has invited other leading authorities to address the urban education challenge, including Marva Collins a few years ago.  Based on his work in urban education over the past 20 years, Dr. Ayers is considered one of the leading authorities in this field; and his academic qualifications with respect to urban education are well established.  Our University community will have an opportunity to hear what he has learned and observed in his work to shape Chicago’s public school reform program.  We believe in our students’ ability to assess data and views thoughtfully.  Those who attend the lecture can form their own thoughts and conclusions on the efficacy of that work.

It is regrettable that those individuals who oppose his visit have focused their criticisms on his infamous past rather than the vastly more important issue of how to close educational achievement gaps between urban students and their non-urban peers.  Urban districts tend to be populated by a disproportionately high percentage of students who live in poverty and persons of color.  Lancaster County is but one of the many communities where Millersville graduates may live and work, and where the challenges facing schools are similar to those faced in urban school districts across the nation.  The educational success of all school children is a social and economic imperative for our state and country – indeed, the argument can be made that the country’s long-term national security interests are at risk if we cannot find workable strategies for educating all of our citizens.

In my message to the campus community I emphasized that the opportunity to hear divergent voices is neither a liberal nor conservative political perspective; but, instead, freedom of thought and expression are the bedrock of our democracy.  Free inquiry, discussion and expression are core values embodied in our Constitution’s Bill of Rights, and these rights are of invaluable importance to a democracy.  America’s colleges and universities are marketplaces of ideas – learning laboratories where ideas rise and fall on their merit.  As a consequence, the devaluation of academic freedom is not just harmful to an institution like Millersville University, but to our community and our democracy as a whole.

True to these values, Millersville University will adhere to its guiding principles and continue to support a culture of free inquiry and self-reflective learning to assist our students in becoming thoughtful individuals who will never lose their passion for engaging new ideas.

Francine G. McNairy
President