Prepared Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Robert Zimmer’s Legacy Inspires Free Speech, Independent Thinking on Campus
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
I want to take a few moments to speak about Robert Zimmer, former president of the University of Chicago.
Barbara and I first want to express our condolences to his wife, Shadi, and their three children.
President Zimmer’s time at the University of Chicago was defined by his relentless defense of freedom of expression.
As a result of his commitment, the University of Chicago remains a place where diversity of viewpoint is always welcome. And the enforcement of that welcoming is very sincere.
In 2014, he appointed the University’s Committee on Freedom of Expression.
That committee issued what is called the “Chicago Principles,” which declare the importance of uncensored thought and inquiry in the university experience.
I think it was also common for the president to make sure a letter went out to first-year students. I never read the complete letter, but in reading about it, I get the impression that the letter said to these first-year students what this policy from the Committee on Freedom of Expression is all about: if you have to worry about safe spaces or you’re worried about being confronted by someone you might disagree with because of their ideology, then don’t come to this university.
But President Zimmer’s impact is not limited to just that one university.
His courage in pushing for free speech on college campuses has been felt nationwide – in my opinion, not as much as it should be, but still, he has made a big impact.
The Chicago Principles have now been adopted by some form by over 80 colleges and universities. You can see that number, 80, is small compared to the thousands of colleges and universities and community colleges we have in our country. That doesn’t mean there’s not more than 80 colleges that have those principles of freedom of expression, but we know that 80 colleges have adopted the Chicago approach.
President Zimmer and the principles that he stood for are absolutely right, because college is a place for learning, not coddling. Campus should be a place where ideas run rampant. After all, you go to college to prepare yourself for life after college and where you go for a job or any place else. There are probably not these safe spaces that some students think they have to have at various universities for a period of four years out of a possible life of the other 60 years that they’re going to live on average after they get out of college.
That mission is not possible if colleges only pursue the appearance of diversity instead of real diversity. And that just isn’t diversity form the standpoint of ethnic, religion, color, gender; it's about diversity of thought and the willingness to discuss diverse opinions among people so theycan learn from each other and respect each other.
In recent years, campus administrators have retreated from free speech and even punishing professors who try to do the right thing by having honest of issues of any kind, particularly controversial issues.
So, we need students, we need professors, and we need alumni willing to sound the alarm about the chilling of debate.
Most importantly, we need campus leaders like President Zimmer who will stand up for freedom of expression in the face of adversity.
Without President Zimmer and his principles, our next generation will be taught regurgitation, not independent thought.
We ought to honor his legacy by advocating for learning and free expression and respect people’s opinion you might disagree with – even willing to sit down and discuss with those people you might disagree with.
With his death, he will be sorely missed, and I hope that college presidents across the country can learn from his example.
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