In May 2017, the University of Denver’s Faculty Senate established what is now the Freedom of Expression Committee (FOE), intended to promote free expression, civil discourse, pluralism and academic freedom on campus. 

Under the FOE exists the DU’s Freedom of Expression and Pluralism Initiatives, which include programs like Debate Across the Curriculum (DAC), which trains students to participate in non-competitive classroom debates. Other initiatives include Spark, described as “DU’s Day of Free Expression and Pluralism” that occurs every year. 

Other efforts include the National Academy for Pluralism and Freedom of Expression. According to Darrin Hicks, filling in as the Faculty Director for Derigan Silver, currently on sabbatical, the Academy will have three primary functions. 

“The first one is to… be the home where all the free expression activities that are planned at DU happen,” Hicks said. 

Hicks said that the Academy will serve as more than just a physical and funding hub for programs.

“The second thing is to become kind of a think tank, if you will, on free expression and pluralism issues,” he stated. 

This would include hosting conferences and publishing scholarly works on free expression issues, Hicks said. He also noted the Academy’s ambitions to connect with younger students.

“And then the third is to see how DU can work with the K-12 educational space on promoting free expression and pluralism,” Hicks said. 

A job posting for the Academy’s Executive Director describes additional objectives, such as providing grants to support research projects and facilitating corporate civil discourse training. 

Hicks stated that the university is hoping to have the Academy open by spring 2026. But some have concerns about the institution’s ability to maintain political impartiality, as it is exclusively funded by private citizens and organizations. 

DU Board of Trustees Chair John A. Miller primarily funded the project, which will be named in honor of him and his wife. He did not respond to The Clarion’s request for comment. 

Hicks said that Miller wanted to help fund the Academy to “provide a place where people could come and talk about those issues.” 

Hicks elaborated further on the motives behind the donation.

“I think that there’s a lot of interest in him for the think tank part of the thing. That is, can we get scholars, activists, other community leaders who are really interested in discussing these issues together? And to see the best thought that emerges from them, to have some really great debates,” he said.

Some of the funding for the $75 to $100 million Academy comes from its partners, all of which are nonprofits dedicated to advancing civil discourse, freedom of expression and pluralism. 

Questions have been raised in the past about the university’s ties to one of these organizations. According to a document shared with The Clarion by President Pro-Tempore Owen Mantelli, on Nov. 7, 2023, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) discussed student and faculty concerns surrounding the partnership between DU and Braver Angels, a political de-polarization nonprofit. 

Another organization, Heterodox Academy, promotes “viewpoint diversity” on college campuses. The organization’s founders have expressed concerns about a perceived liberal bias in higher education and advocate for increased representation of conservative perspectives.

Some critics have contested the existence of this bias, while others have challenged the idea that viewpoint diversity is an effective solution. 

Similar critiques have been made about other organizations tied to the Academy. Still, Hicks said that he believes the Academy has sufficient safeguards to prevent undue influence.

“The moment it isn’t doing those things is the moment I would leave and I would encourage other people to leave,” he added. “Just because it’s privately funded doesn’t mean that that should dictate what the mission is.” 

Hicks pointed to the leadership of the Academy, noting that the program’s structure is designed to promote transparency and accountability.

“There’s a National Advisory Board, that is not paid, that is there to ensure that these are really good and well-proven initiatives and interventions,” Hicks said. “From what I’ve seen, it’s a very robust and academically driven board of advisors.”

Hicks said that he was unsure of the board’s direct administrative role in the Academy.

He added that, moving forward, partnerships with other similar organizations may also play a key role in shaping the Academy, such as PEN America or the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). 

However, concerns remain about the Academy maintaining its academic independence. The Academy will be housed within the Office of the Chancellor, meaning that the responsibility for ensuring the academic integrity of the Academy will not lie with faculty, but with administrative leadership. 

In an email sent to The Clarion, DU Director of Media Relations Jon Stone wrote, 

“The Academy will be a culmination of our aspirations to be a leading university dedicated to ensuring an environment of open and free inquiry through our commitment to free expression, academic freedom, civil discourse and a dedication to embracing difference. The University of Denver is unwavering in its commitment to protecting academic integrity and supporting our faculty to research and teach to their expertise. These are values that are critically important to John and Sandy Miller, and will be to future donors to the Academy. Instilling a balance will be important to the Academy so that scholars, teachers and practitioners can develop their own perspectives on issues that matter.”

Hicks stated the Academy’s ability to maintain its impartiality will be a key measure for its acceptance and success at DU. 

“[The Academy] should be accepted or rejected by folks here on campus to the extent it stays true to that mission and true to… what I call passionate impartiality,” Hicks said. “I am very passionate that we remain fair, open, transparent [and] just… I think that that’s how it becomes an important part of DU, by maintaining integrity to those kinds of principles.” 

He connected this idea of integrity to the value of critical inquiry in higher education. 

“Learning… how to express multiple points of view, how to deliberate, assess the validity of those arguments independently of whether or not you agree or disagree with them, but are they, in fact, sound arguments… I think that’s the core of a university education,” Hicks said.