Open Expression at Penn: We need shared governance and a commitment to free speech

Posted on Posted in Events, Statements

Note: Use this form to add your name to the list at the end of this post.

On March 31, 2026, the Provost’s Office released a draft of the Open Expressions Guidelines via the Penn Almanac.  As we noted in our statement two weeks ago, the process behind replacing the Temporary Guidelines has been opaque and diverged from historical precedent at Penn. In terms of protecting free speech and academic freedom, the new guidelines are problematic: They are expanded to encompass online expression of Penn community members; increase the likelihood of disciplinary action for violating the standards; make additional demands on producing identification during events; and introduce a new Executive Director of Open Expression, who is appointed by and reports to the Provost.  

AAUP-Penn is committed to shared governance and academic freedom, and the proposed guidelines undermine both.  They further concentrate power in the Provost’s Office, eroding the ability of faculty, students and staff across campus to engage in debate about difficult topics – something that’s crucial to intellectual life.   Now is the time to let the Provost’s Office know that true open expression is central to Penn’s community, and any process shaping it has to include both meaningful contributions from across campus and a commitment to protecting the right to peaceful protest.

We invite all members of the Penn community – students, staff, faculty and alums – to urge the Provost’s Office to commit to (1) shared decision making and procedural transparency and (2) robust protection of free speech.

AAUP-Penn invites members of the Penn community to publicly affirm the following statement: “I object to the process and contents of these proposed guidelines and urge the Provost to commit both to greater protection of free speech and to follow long-established, shared decision-making procedures for university policy changes.” A list of signatories will be added to this page shortly and updated daily. Use this reply form to add your name. In addition, faculty, staff, and students in the Penn community are invited to commit to take specific actions to defend shared governance and free speech on campus:

  • Attend an AAUP-Penn meetup at 3:00 pm on Thursday, April 23, 2026, immediately before the scheduled In-Person Listening Session (sign up for updates via our reply form as well).
  • Attend the In-Person Listening Session at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at Perry World House.
  • Attend the Virtual Listening Session at 12:00 noon on Friday, April 24, 2026.

[Update: April 3rd, 11:45am] The undersigned members of the Penn community affirm the statement: “I object to the process and contents of these proposed guidelines and urge the Provost to commit both to greater protection of free speech and to follow long-established, shared decision-making procedures for university policy changes.”

  1. Jessa Lingel (Faculty, Annenberg School for Communication)
  2. Akira Drake Rodriguez (Faculty, Stuart Weitzman School of Design)
  3. Lorena Grundy (Faculty, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)
  4. Chi-ming Yang (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  5. Andrew Lamas (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Social Policy and Practice)
  6. Jen McLaughlin Cahill (Faculty, Graduate School of Education)
  7. So-Rim Lee (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  8. Jessica Whitelaw (Faculty, Graduate School of Education)
  9. Suvir Kaul (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  10. Victor Pickard (Faculty, Annenberg School for Communication)
  11. Carolyn Marvin (Faculty, Annenberg School for Communication)
  12. Robert Vitalis (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  13. Philip Gressman (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  14. Karen Redrobe (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  15. Kate Rojas (Staff, Penn Libraries)
  16. Ryan Fair (Research Associate/Postdoc, Perelman School of Medicine)
  17. Alexander Berry (Graduate Student, Penn Carey Law)
  18. Ben Webster (Staff, Penn Libraries)
  19. John Wolfe (Faculty, Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine)
  20. Clara Abbott (Graduate Student, Graduate School of Education)
  21. Sam Schirvar (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  22. Julia Alekseyeva  (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  23. Carl DeBaun  (Staff, Perelman School of Medicine)
  24. LauraEllen Ashcraft (Faculty, Perelman School of Medicine)
  25. Caz Batten (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  26. Bruce Simon (Associate Professor of English at SUNY Fredonia and President of the SUNY University Faculty Senate)
  27. Riley Shahar (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  28. Katherine Knox (Graduate Student, Stuart Weitzman School of Design)
  29. Cara Bishop (Staff, School of Arts and Sciences)
  30. Kerry Nix (Graduate Student, Perelman School of Medicine)
  31. Sam Franz (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  32. Janice Bellace (Faculty, Wharton School)
  33. Jonathan Nadraws (Research Associate/Postdoc, Perelman School of Medicine)
  34. Sarah True (Staff, Perelman School of Medicine)
  35. David Kazanjian (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  36. Robin Pemantle (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  37. Randall Burson (Graduate Student, Perelman School of Medicine)
  38. Maya  English (Graduate Student, Perelman School of Medicine)
  39. Michael Marks (Faculty, Perelman School of Medicine)
  40. Rachel Silverstein (Graduate Student, Graduate School of Education)
  41. Maxine Calle (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  42. Rafael  Khachaturian  (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  43. Miles Black (Alumni, Perelman School of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania)
  44. Nicolai Apenes (Graduate Student, Perelman School of Medicine)
  45. Mathias Wegner (Staff, Information Systems and Computing)
  46. Xavier Xin (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  47. Rylee Smith (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  48. Nora Bradford (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  49. Kathryn Chen (Alumni, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)
  50. Asia Kopcsandy (Staff, School of Veterinary Medicine)
  51. Amy Offner (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  52. Austin Miles (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  53. Ethan Blackwood (Graduate Student, Perelman School of Medicine)
  54. Justin Mullikin (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  55. Daniel Angelis-Kaisla (Staff, Stuart Weitzman School of Design)
  56. Gerald Campano (Faculty, Graduate School of Education)
  57. Violet Ullman (Graduate Student, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)
  58. Richard M Leventhal (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  59. Stephanie Feldman (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
  60. Emma Glenister (Graduate Student, School of Arts and Sciences)
  61. Elena Sisti (Center for Bioethics)
  62. Peter Holquist (Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences)
Tagged with: ,