Penn’s commitment to open expression is a bedrock principle of our campus community and central to our institutional mission.
In August 2024, as many of you know, President Jameson and I charged a faculty-led Task Force to review the Guidelines on Open Expression and the Temporary Standards and Procedures for Campus Events and Demonstrations, with an understanding that the entire Penn community would play a pivotal role in providing input on any changes. As we approach the final stages of that review, we are asking for your participation. I will provide below a brief overview of our review process so far and describe how you can provide input. Your feedback will help ensure that President Jameson receives a well-vetted draft for his consideration later this year.
During the 2024–2025 academic year, the Task Force on Open Expression consulted with members of our campus community to develop proposed revisions to the Guidelines on Open Expression and the Temporary Standards and Procedures for Campus Events and Demonstrations. As part of this work, the Task Force met with the Committee on Open Expression (COE) and with other student, staff, and faculty leaders. In February 2025, the COE voted to approve a draft of the Task Force’s recommendations, which was then returned to the Task Force for additional revisions. The Task Force co-chairs also presented an update on their recommendations to University Council in April 2025.
Since then, President Jameson and I have been working with campus leaders on how best to plan for implementation of the recommendations, in a way that reflects our enduring commitment to open expression while also capturing institutional expectations around clarity and campus safety. We conducted a review of past University approaches to such revisions; consulted with the Office of General Counsel, Division of Public Safety, and Division of University Life; and reached out to the Faculty Senate Tri-Chairs for their guidance, especially about next steps.
We now invite input from all members of the Penn community.
A current draft of the revised Guidelines on Open Expression will be published in Almanac next Tuesday, March 31, shared with student leaders and staff representatives across campus, and circulated in the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty’s April newsletter. There will then be two primary ways for Penn faculty, staff, students, and postdocs to share their feedback:
- Online Feedback: All Penn community members may submit anonymous feedback through an online Qualtrics survey, accessible via Almanac. The deadline for submissions will be May 18, 2026.
- Listening Sessions: Two community listening sessions will be held to invite feedback, one virtual and one in-person. Details will be published in the March 31 Almanac.
Through the summer and early fall, my office will work with the Committee on Open Expression, Faculty Senate Tri-Chairs, and other campus stakeholders to review the feedback, identify key themes, and finalize a revised version of the Guidelines, which will be presented at the University Council meeting on September 9, 2026. President Jameson will then review the final draft recommendations and publish the final version of the revised Guidelines in Almanac.
Thank you in advance for participating in this important process, which will shape the future of our shared commitments to substantive dialogue and open expression on campus.