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Five people move a large wooden barricade across a city street at night; streetlights and buildings are visible in the background.

Student activists roll a fence across Forbes Avenue on July 21 to be installed outside of the CMU president’s office in the wake of his censorship of the school’s historic free speech fence. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

Dear Reader,

It’s been just a little over 10 months since I moved to Pittsburgh and began covering higher education institutions in the area. To say that I chose a ripe time to start this work would be an understatement. This year alone has seen colleges and universities deal with critical funding losses, large staff reductions and threats to reform campuses coming from those in D.C. As an “eds and meds” town, the strength of these institutions has a tangible impact on our community.

So, while higher education in general is facing challenges — which some consider to be unprecedented — I’m a true believer in looking at wide-ranging issues on a micro level. This is why I’m exploring the state of academic freedom at nearby schools in my new series, “Gagging Academia.” If you’ve asked yourself, “What even is academic freedom? Is that like freedom of speech?” I recommend you tune in over the next few months to get an idea of what it entails, how it functions and why many believe the concept is important, especially today.

My first story in the series distills nearly a century’s worth of local academic freedom history into six key moments. Another thing I wholeheartedly believe: We need to look at the past to understand the present. This is exactly what I’ve done, and will continue to do. But embarking on this kind of work isn’t easy. It takes an incredible amount of time and energy across the entire newsroom. It’s with the support of readers like you that we’re able to keep digging — to bring you deeply reported stories on meaningful topics that affect the lives of people right here.

We love what we do. We hope you do, too. Our fall fundraising campaign is on now, with a goal of raising $10,000 by Sept. 27. Please make a gift today to support our nonprofit newsroom ([link removed]) and help us keep doing this work.
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Thanks for your readership and support.

Sincerely,

Maddy Franklin

Higher Education Reporter

Pittsburgh’s Public Source

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