Professor Estee Beck, director of UC Merced’s Merritt Writing Program, has been named to the Academic Advisory Board of the University of California’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement .
The center strives to ensure everyone with a stake in higher education is prepared to defend and advance the free speech rights enshrined in the First Amendment. The center’s efforts are especially crucial amid the current national debate about free speech on campuses and in society at large.
“I value free speech as a cornerstone of higher education and am honored to join the center’s Academic Advisory Board,” Beck said. “I look forward to contributing to discussions that uphold and advance this fundamental right in our academic communities.”
Center Executive Director Michelle Deutchmann said of Beck: “One of greatest strengths of the UC system is its unmatched scholarly expertise, which is represented by the center’s Academic Advisory Board. Estee Beck is no exception. Writing is one of the critical means available for expression, and I know the center will benefit from her critical perspective.”
The Academic Advisory Board is comprised of UC faculty members. The center also has a National Advisory Board made up of thought leaders from outside the UC system.
Through research, advocacy and discussion, the center works to move the debate from sound bites to thoughtful dialogue.
One of its most effective programs is the Valuing Open and Inclusive Conversation and Engagement (VOICE) initiative, which provides up to $5,000 for UC students, staff and faculty interested in conducting research or coordinating activities that explore the intersection of expression and democratic learning and what can be done to restore trust in free speech.
Beck has held her current position at UC Merced since July 2021. Previously, she was an English professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.
She joins UC Merced colleague Anne Kelley, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, on the center’s Academic Advisory Board.
