Job Description Summary
Bentley University invites applications for the Bartlett Chair of Free Speech, an endowed position at the Associate or Full Professor level, to begin in Fall 2027.
Funded by a generous gift from Bruce and Patricia Bartlett, this professorship affirms Bentley’s commitment to fostering free expression, intellectual pluralism, and the constructive exchange of ideas as central to a liberal education.
This position is part of a broader Bartlett Initiative that also includes a companion Chair of Free Enterprise. The two chairs will work together to develop programming, events, and curricular initiatives under the Bartlett banner that promote inquiry, debate, and engagement across disciplines.
The Bartlett Chair of Free Speech carries a 1-1 teaching load and receives substantial support for scholarship, professional engagement, and leadership of the Bartlett Initiative. This support includes summer salary, a chair stipend, and a generous research and travel account.
Qualifications
Candidates are expected to demonstrate a strong and sustained commitment to the value and principles of free speech in their academic work.
A successful candidate will demonstrate:
A PhD in History, Philosophy, Political Science, Law, or a closely related field.
A distinguished record of research, teaching, and public engagement appropriate to appointment at the Associate or Full Professor level.
An active, high-quality research agenda with a direct and substantive connection to free speech, free expression, or closely related areas.
Strength in interdisciplinary teaching and dialogue across fields.
Evidence of active and visible engagement in their discipline and in broader scholarly, professional, civic, or public conversations related to free speech.
We especially welcome candidates whose work engages:
Cultural history, intellectual history, or political thought.
First Amendment law or theories of expression.
Academic freedom, civil discourse, or democratic institutions.
Candidates with experience in public-facing scholarship, civic dialogue, media engagement, or leading campus and community conversations are particularly encouraged to apply.
Responsibilities
Teaching
Teach one course per semester, reflecting a 1-1 teaching load.
Offer undergraduate courses on freedom of speech and related topics.
Develop a Free Speech Seminar within Bentley’s Falcon Discovery Seminar first-year program.
Foster rigorous, inclusive, and intellectually open classroom environments in which students can engage constructively with competing ideas and perspectives.
Scholarship and External Engagement
Maintain an active and visible research agenda related to free speech, free expression, or closely connected areas of inquiry.
Publish in scholarly journals and public-facing venues.
Present research and ideas at national and international conferences, public forums, and professional gatherings.
Contribute to public conversations about free expression, academic freedom, and civil discourse through writing, speaking, media engagement, or related activities.
Develop and sustain relationships with relevant scholarly, professional, and civic organizations, which may include the Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Campus Engagement and the Bartlett Initiative
Collaborate closely with the Bartlett Chair of Free Enterprise on joint programming, including speaker series, public events, and curricular initiatives.
Help shape and advance a compelling long-term vision for the Bartlett Initiative.
Lead campus conversations on free expression, academic freedom, and civil discourse.
Engage students and faculty in discussions about the role of free speech in higher education and democratic society.
Serve as a resource to university leadership on issues of expression and academic freedom.
Build connections between the…