Silha Center Director and Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law Jane Kirtley to Participate in "Free Speech at the Crossroads: A Minnesota Dialogue"

On Sept. 18, 2023, Silha Center Director and Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law Jane Kirtley will participate in a panel discussion, “The State of Free Speech in America Today,” in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The panel is part of Free Speech at the Crossroads: A Minnesota Dialogue, created by the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, in collaboration with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It is an effort to activate a deeper understanding of Free Speech and First Amendment issues, and will include four regional symposia around the United States. The Minnesota Dialogue is the first in the series, and is co-hosted by Hamline University. 

The opening event begins on September 18 at 2:45 pm at the Knight Foundation offices in downtown St. Paul, 370 Wabasha St N., Osborn 370, 4th Floor Saint Paul, MN 55102.  The first panel, “The State of Free Speech in America Today,” will feature Professor Jane Kirtley and Professor David Schulz, Hamline University.  A second panel, “Minnesota’s Checkered History with Free Expression,” will follow, with panelists Suki Dardarian, senior managing editor and vice president of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Leita Walker, attorney with the Minneapolis office of Ballard Spahr. The day concludes with a reception and a Fireside Chat: “Can We Create a Nonpartisan National Discussion on Free Speech?”  All panels will be moderated by Sanford J. Ungar, president emeritus of Goucher College and director of the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University. 

Additional events on September 19 and 20 will take place at Hamline University.

More information about Free Speech at the Crossroads: A Minnesota Dialogue and free registration links are available here.