Arizona Republican lawmakers have launched a new committee to investigate the freedom of speech in Arizona’s public universities and to look into the events surrounding a program titled “Health, Wealth and Happiness,” presented by Arizona State University‘s T.W. Lewis Center.
This follows officials at Arizona State University allegedly firing University administrator and Director of the T.W. Lewis Center, Ann Atkinson, for bringing conservative speakers Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk onto campus earlier this year for the “Health, Wealth and Happiness” program which focused on professional development and networking.
Following her termination Atkinson said that “Arizona State University claims to value freedom of expression, but in the end, the faculty mob always wins against institutional protections for free speech.”
After the incident occurred, Arizona State University closed the T.W. Lewis Center in June claiming Atkinson’s termination and the Center closure were because they ran out of funding.
The new committee called The Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression at Arizona’s Public Universities will convene July 18th at 9:00 a.m. in the Arizona Senate to hear testimony regarding the program and the subsequent closing of the Center.
According to the press release, author and talk show host, Prager, along with Atkinson are among the individuals testifying. The Committee also invited the Arizona State University faculty and administration who opposed the program to attend.
State Senator Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) and State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) co-chair the committee. State Senators Frank Carroll (R-Surprise) and J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) along with State Representatives Austin Smith (R-Suprise), Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria), along with Democrat legislators, are on the committee.
According to Kern, freedom of speech is a principle America was founded on and something he will always aim to protect.
“It’s incredibly important that our state’s universities support their students and guests sharing their opinions and viewpoints. We want to create an environment for individuals involved in this situation to share their sides of the story to better understand what occurred with this program and the impacts it may have had on future freedom of expression,” Kern said.
Nguyen agreed that Arizona’s public universities must allow free speech and expression.
“I’m very concerned to see an administrator terminated after coordinating to have conservatives speak on campus. I look forward to hearing from university leadership as to why this happened and what ought to be done to rectify the situation,” Nguyen said.
The lawmakers said they hope that Arizona State University faculty and administration who opposed the program will accept their invitation also to share their stories of what happened.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Arizona State University Sign” by Arizona State University.
