Jody Greene and Mary Beth Pudup named to inaugural board of UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement

Jody Greene
Jody Greene
Mary Beth Pudup
Mary Beth Pudup

UC Santa Cruz professors Jody Greene and Mary Beth Pudup are among 19 leading University of California scholars in a variety of fields--ranging from religious studies and law to medicine and philosophy—who have been named to the inaugural academic advisory board of the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.

Board members will assist in the creation of the center’s project priorities and future selection of fellows. They also will contribute written pieces on topics related to their scholarly activities for the center’s forthcoming “Weekly Conversation” column, which will be featured on its web site.

“The members of our academic advisory board represent the UC system’s breadth of talent and expertise; the perspectives they bring will help shape the national conversation on free expression in higher education,” said Michelle Deutchman, the center’s executive director. “I am excited to collaborate with them to further the center’s important work.”

Greene is associate vice provost for teaching and learning, director of the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL), and a professor of literature at UC Santa Cruz. Pudup is director and associate professor of the campus’s Community Studies Program.

The University of California--birthplace of the Free Speech Movement--launched the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement in 2017 to support and advance research, education and advocacy on these challenging issues.

Last year, the center announced its first set of fellows. These 10 scholars, students, and analysts from across the country are researching timely, vital First Amendment topics. As part of the fellowship, each spent a week in residence at one of the 10 UC campuses to engage with students, faculty, administrators and community members.

The center’s first national conference, #SpeechMatters: The Future of Free Expression on Campus, will be held March 21 at the UCDC offices in Washington, D.C. The event will provide an opportunity for elected officials, university leaders, and others to explore new approaches to engaging and educating students about the critical role of the First Amendment in American democracy.

The new Academic advisory board members are:

 

 Ahmad Atif Ahmad - UC Santa Barbara

Professor, Religious Studies; Chair of the Council on Faculty Welfare, Academic Freedom, and Awards

 

Gerardo Aldana - UC Santa Barbara

Professor, Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies; Chair of the Department of Chicana/o Studies

 

Amy Binder - UC San Diego

Professor, Sociology

 

Simone E. Chambers - UC Irvine

Professor, Political Science

 

Michael Mark Cohen - UC Berkeley

Associate Teaching Professor, African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies

 

Lee G. Cooper - UCLA

Professor Emeritus, Marketing

 

John Ganim - UC Riverside

Distinguished Professor, English

 

Jody Greene - UC Santa Cruz

Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning; Director of the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning; Professor of Literature

 

David Kaye - UC Irvine

Clinical Professor, Law

 

Suneil K. Koliwad - UC San Francisco

Associate Professor, Medicine, Diabetes Center; Gerold Grodsky, PhD/JAB Chair in Diabetes Research

 

Dana Nelkin - UC San Diego

Professor, Philosophy

 

Tung Nguyen - UC San Francisco

Stephen J. McPhee, MD Endowed Chair in General Internal Medicine; Professor of Medicine

 

Constance Penley - UC Santa Barbara

Professor, Film and Media Studies

 

Mary Beth Pudup - UC Santa Cruz

Director and Associate Professor, Community Studies Program

 

Randolph M. Siverson - UC Davis

Professor Emeritus, Political Science

 

Nella Van Dyke - UC Merced

Professor, Sociology

 

John Villasenor - UCLA

Professor, Public Policy, Electrical Engineering& Management,

 

Eugene Volokh - UCLA School of Law

Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law

 

Keith David Watenpaugh - UC Davis

Professor and Director, Human Rights Studies