Research & Fellowship
We fund scholars and practitioners whose work shapes how campuses navigate the hardest questions about speech, democracy and civic life, and connect that research to people who need it.
Amplifying Voices. Advancing Education. Strengthening Democracy.
We equip higher education stakeholders with research, community and practical tools to strengthen free expression, encourage thoughtful engagement and support meaningful dialogue on and off campus.
Furthering Expression and Engagement
Sharing Research, Programs, and Resources
From funding scholars to building practical tools for campus communities, we work at the intersection of scholarship and everyday practice.
Programs & Training
We help develop the next generation of leaders through our educational workshops and by sharing tools to make an impact on civic life in their campus communities.
Dialogue & Resources
We create space for thoughtful, nuanced conversations about complex issues and offer practical ways to navigate differences.
Events & Convenings
We bring scholars, thought leaders and campus experts together to discuss pressing issues through our annual conference, workshop series and webinars to turn ideas into action.
Where our work comes to life
Fellowship, programs, and what's coming up
Research Program
National Research Fellowship
Our fellowship funds scholars from across the country and across disciplines to conduct original research on free expression, civic engagement and democratic participation on campus. Fellows receive $15,000 and join a national network of practitioners and policymakers.
UC Community Program
VOICE Initiative
Funding student, staff, and faculty projects that advance civic life within the UC system. Open to the UC community.
Impact in Action
From campus programs to national conversations
The Center's work supports students, educators, and scholars nationwide.
4,100+
SpeechMatters Podcast Listens in 2025
108
VOICE Projects Funded
94
Research Fellows Funded
10k+
Community Members Reached in 2025
Scholarship in Public
Bringing fellowship research into national higher education conversations
Presented at
The Association for the Study of Higher Education
Center fellows from multiple cohorts joined a national conference panel on academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and political pressure in higher education.
Meet the fellows
Research Impact
From fellowship research to award-winning publication
Outstanding Publication
A 2025-2026 American Educational Research Association Outstanding Publication Award
Fellows Jackie Pedota and Eliza Epstein were recognized for work on faculty responses to legislative threats to academic freedom and scholarship on race.
View the research
Creative Expression
Using comedy to inspire difficult conversations
On Stage
8 Student Performers · a Sold-Out Debut Showcase
UC Merced’s inaugural Stand-Up Comedy Showcase – funded by the Center’s VOICE initiative – gave students a public stage to explore identity, belonging, and free expression through original performance.
Learn about VOICE
Student Research
Exploring academic freedom and why it matters
New Undergraduate Course
Training humanities students
2025-2026 VOICE recipients Kelly Brown and Dean Tyrus Miller are featured with some of the students in their course Social Media Storytellers: On Academic Freedom, a project funded by the Center’s VOICE Initiative.
View VOICE awardees
Civic Learning
Helping students navigate election-year information
Outreach
300+ UCLA Campus Stakeholders
A VOICE project at UCLA, Democracy Workshops, brought students, educators, and community partners together across five events on civic knowledge, campaign media, and AI-driven misinformation.
Explore VOICE projects
Campus Engagement
Turning voter education into a campus-wide civic event
Voter Registration
700+ live attendees at UC Berkeley Votechella
With support from a VOICE award, UC Berkeley’s Votechella combined music, student organizing, and civic education to expand participation during the 2024 cycle.
View VOICE awardees
Why this work matters
The Stakes Are Real
Across higher education, the ability to engage across differences is being tested. Students, faculty and institutions are navigating complex questions about free expression, academic freedom and open inquiry.
At a time when meaningful dialogue is more important than ever, creating spaces for thoughtful conversation, differing perspectives, and mutual understanding is essential not just for campuses, but for a healthy democracy.
This work matters now more than ever.
This work depends on support from people who believe in it. Our resources are free because donors make that possible, helping us reach more campuses, amplify more voices, and keep going.
Featured Projects
Recent projects from our fellows
Campus Climate
(No) Shame in Speaking: Resources for Navigating Emotions on Campus
Shame is a complex, often painful emotion that can influence open expression on campus, with moral, social, and justice-related implications. Shame acts on speech in relationship to fear of judgment, practices of self-silencing, active shaming of certain views, and more. Yet, shame is often taboo on campus. This project clarifies the relationship between shame and expression, and provides principles and strategies for campus communities to attend to these hard, yet important, emotions in support of more inclusive and open expression on campus.
Campus Climate
The Promise and Perils of Interpartisan Friendships for Fostering Democratic Learning and Reducing Values-Based Polarization on Campus
How can we employ the potential of higher education for healing political divisiveness? Our project explores the stories of college students’ interpartisan friendships, translating our findings into a toolkit providing actionable strategies and educational interventions to support democratic learning and reduce campus polarization.
Civic Engagement
Bridging Gaps: AI Civic Literacy Against Political Misinformation
This design project addresses the challenge of AI-driven political misinformation and its impact on democratic participation. With generative AI tools increasingly weaponized to create deepfakes and disinformation targeting historically marginalized groups, this project develops an open-access educational toolkit grounded in civic information literacy and critical pedagogy. The toolkit includes lesson plans, slide decks, and interactive modules designed for academic librarians and faculty across disciplines to support students’ development as informed, engaged civic participants.
How we advance open inquiry
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Testimonials
The Center team has cultivated an irreplaceable environment of inspiration and collaboration, which I am truly grateful for, especially amid the political challenges of this past year.
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Latest From the Community
UC Santa Barbara News
July 14, 2026
Fellow Daniel Lane Featured for His Upcoming Center Research, AI as a Civic Educator: Artificial Intelligence and the Civic Future of American College Students
The Fulcrum
July 5, 2026
National Advisory Board Member Alex Edgar Discusses Why Strengthening Democracy Requires Collaboration Across Generations
UC Merced Magazine
July 1, 2026