At this critical moment for democracy and the rule of law in the U.S., higher education is under pressure from multiple directions. States seek greater control over curriculum (including banning certain topics from the classroom) and attempt to weaken tenure. Political pressure has led to faculty and dean firings, grant terminations, and debates over free speech. The impacts of these developments are exacerbated by financial stressors, escalating misinformation, gaps in access to justice, and declines in mental health among students, lawyers, and faculty. These challenges occur against a backdrop of dramatic legal change as precedents, institutions, and norms are swept aside or crumble. 

Law schools and law professors are uniquely positioned to understand, evaluate, and respond to these challenges. Legal scholars are skilled at identifying frameworks, theories, and mechanisms to achieve real and sustained change. However, diagnostic identification of challenges and reactive debate are insufficient. We thus focus on meeting the moment: producing, sharing, and testing concrete, creative, and detailed strategies to proactively advance democratic principles and the values of higher education. Our participants have developed and will advance in-depth, specific proposals that faculty, university and law school leaders, and members of the profession can implement to support academic freedom, democratic governance, and the values of access, knowledge-building, and transformative change that are the hallmarks of successful institutions of higher education. The symposium is currently organized into three panels: (1) Changing the Rules of the Game, highlighting the structural, statutory, and regulatory frameworks which impact universities; (2) Who Governs the University?, focusing on institutional authority and legitimacy; and (3) Fighting for our Future, addressing how legal scholars can engage with and advocate for the values and principles supporting higher education. 

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