Overview

The Free Speech Center (FSC) is a national, non-partisan center building understanding of the First Amendment through education, information, and engagement. We work daily to address constitutional illiteracy by offering educational tools and opportunities, and providing valuable information to the press, educators, and the public. Director Ken Paulson is the former editor of USA Today, a lawyer, journalist, and First Amendment expert whose work has served this mission over 25 years. Being located on the campus of MTSU provides extraordinary production facilities, and the 501c3 MTSU Foundation is our fiscal sponsor. Educational institutions strive to prepare students for the future, for life as a professional, but also as a citizen. It’s the latter that proves to be the true challenge. Too many students enter adulthood with only a limited sense of how our country works and a lack of appreciation for the riches democracy provides, yet the next generation is best positioned to help break the vicious pattern of partisanship and rancor plaguing our nation. We emphasize: • The need to stay truly informed by selecting reliable and trustworthy news sources • The importance of engaging in society, encouraging constructive change through the exercise of core freedoms • Recognizing that free speech is a universal value, and that it is most beneficial when coupled with a willingness to listen in a civil and respectful exchange of ideas The FSC: • Provides daily news and insights into free expression and offers a comprehensive repository of history and law in its First Amendment Encyclopedia • Publishes books, teacher’s guides and white papers through its First Amendment Press • Underwrites and supports programs/events on campuses each year, all encouraging the free and respectful exchange of ideas • Manages extensive outreach incorporating celebrities, pop culture, film and music, conveying core Constitutional principles in an informal, accessible, and intriguing way