Date of Award

Fall 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Foundations & Leadership

Program/Concentration

Higher Education

Committee Director

Dennis E. Gregory

Committee Member

David F. Ayers

Committee Member

Wendy Scott

Abstract

This collective case study explores institutional responses to First Amendment events to determine how institutional policies impact a sense of inclusivity and the protection of free speech rights on public college and university campuses. This study identifies the practices of a sample of public, university campuses that have experienced a free speech incident to determine how the experience shaped their policies on free speech, how administrators describe their experiences following the incident, and how institutional leaders rate the outcome of their efforts in relation to balancing inclusivity in the campus environment. Due to the complex nature of public university campuses, this study utilized a combination methodology to answer the research questions through a collective case study approach utilizing the following: content analysis of speech policies, leader statements, and statements on diversity, equity, and/or inclusion in addition to semi-structured interviews with campus administrators. The goal of this research study is to better understand the rationale for administrative responses to free speech incidents and to explore institutional responses to First Amendment issues and how they impact a sense of inclusivity. This is with the ultimate goal of identifying how the practices of a campus shape their policies on free speech and expression and how these efforts are balanced with maintaining inclusivity in the campus environment.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/56bj-df91

ISBN

9798302855336

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