Free Speech on the Law School Campus
An interview with Dean Russell K. Osgood
CLE Credit — Approved in 5 States
Are there subject matter limits to discussion and debate on the law school campus? Are certain ideas or legal topics beyond the pale of respectable discourse? How are law schools wrestling with sensitive and controversial topics in the educational setting? We sit down for a conversation on potential challenges and limits to free speech in America’s law schools. Russell K. Osgood of WashULaw shares his perspective and makes the case for robust free and varied speech as an essential ingredient to the forming of strong attorneys and in creating a more just legal system.
About Dean Russell K. Osgood
“The value of free speech in an academic institution cannot be overstated. It's the warp and woof of how we educate. ”
Russell K. Osgood currently serves as dean of the School of Law and Professor of Law. Osgood has an extensive background in university administration, as president of Grinnell College from July 1998 to July 2010, where he also was a professor of history and political science, and as dean of Cornell Law School from 1988 to 1998. He is the author of multiple articles, and his books include Cases and Materials on Employee Benefits (with Peter Wiedenbeck), The Law in Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court 1692-1992, and The Law of Pensions and Profit-Sharing: Qualified Retirement Plans and Other Deferred Compensation Arrangements. Dean Osgood is an expert on American legal history, employee benefits and pension law, and income taxation.
