Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: Stanford University

Title of entry: Thinking Allowed: Promoting Free Speech in the Classroom

About this entry: At a moment when protests and debates over free speech were roiling campuses, this article presented a new way forward. “Thinking Allowed” describes Stanford Graduate School of Business’ ongoing effort to create a culture that encourages “constructive, intellectually challenging, respectful, charitable debate.” GSB faculty noticed that their MBA students were increasingly reluctant to share their viewpoints in class, especially if they thought it might lead to disagreement or discomfort. As one professor notes, this “unwillingness to engage in frank back-and-forth about important topics diminishes their education.” This prompted a group of GSB faculty members to bridge their own differences to expand the curriculum to encourage students to tackle contentious topics without fear of being shut down.

The piece showcases the GSB's multifaceted efforts to prepare its diverse student body to be leaders in a diverse and contentious world. As Professor Deborah Gruenfeld explains, the most difficult subjects are the most important for students to debate. “Our students are going to leave the GSB and be managers and leaders and running companies, and they’re going to be facing the same kinds of challenges that we’re facing here.” To prepare them for that reality, they “are going to be exposed to things they aren’t expecting, that they aren’t comfortable with.”

Alumni are deeply interested in how the school is navigating these challenges. This article illuminated the many different ways that the school is addressing academic freedom and discourse on campus. The president of the university congratulated us on successfully telling these stories.