Should universities remain institutionally neutral on the great political and social questions of our time? Or does neutrality itself represent a choice about the role universities should play in public life? Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, discusses institutional neutrality, academic freedom, and the responsibilities of university leaders in a deeply polarized political environment.

Michael Roth has served as president of Wesleyan University since 2007. A historian, author, curator, and public advocate for liberal education, he previously served as president of California College of the Arts and as associate director of the Getty Research Institute. His books include Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist's Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness (2019).

Roth visits campus in conjunction with the Townsend Center’s yearlong Sawyer Seminar on Neutrality: The Problems and Challenges of the Public University, funded by the Mellon Foundation. 

He is in conversation with Seminar leaders Stephen Best (English) and Colleen Lye (English).