South SFV Today

Stanford Law School Professor Bernadette “Bernie” Meyler will serve as a special advisor to the provost this academic year, focusing on policies related to the Faculty Senate’s recently approved Statement on Freedom of Expression and the new Institutional Statements Policy.

Meyler, who chaired the Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on University Speech last year and was instrumental in drafting these documents, holds the Carl and Sheila Spaeth Professorship of Law and serves as associate dean for research and intellectual life at Stanford Law School.

“I’m grateful to Bernie Meyler for taking on this important role. As chair of the Faculty Senate’s committee last year, she had the opportunity to talk to many members of our community and hear their concerns about freedom of expression on campus. As she engages further with stakeholders this year to revise and clarify our policies for the long-term, this background will be extremely helpful,” Provost Jenny Martinez said. “Our mission of research and education depends on the free exchange of ideas. I’d like to see Stanford be a leader in having policies that provide strong protection for freedom of expression and promote a robust culture of openness, curiosity, and meaningful engagement.”

The Freedom of Expression statement, approved in May, reaffirmed Stanford's commitment to free speech while clarifying that different campus spaces may have varying guidelines due to their specific functions.

Before classes commence in late September, Stanford plans to launch a new website detailing fall policies for students. In her advisory role, Meyler will ensure clear and consistent guidelines across campus while respecting space-specific differences.

Meyler will also work on clarifying academic freedom as defined in Stanford’s 1974 Statement on Academic Freedom. This includes specifying what roles and responsibilities entail regarding protection under academic freedom.

“I am eager to continue working on reconciling some of the freedom of expression policies that currently exist across campus,” Meyler said. “And I’m particularly excited about clarifying existing policies in light of the new Faculty Senate measures. My work will be about ensuring that our community’s voices are heard and that we are working to address the issues that matter most.”

Meyler aims to collaborate with various campus groups focused on fostering a robust discourse community through activities and policies. She hopes Stanford can serve as a model for other universities.

“I’m looking forward to using Stanford as a model for other universities, especially in terms of protecting expression and developing protocols that ensure all community members are heard while sustaining our rich educational environment,” she said.

She emphasized the importance of academic freedom amid nationwide challenges faced by universities.

“I think it’s obvious that we are in an incredibly polarized moment and sometimes that can lead to suppressing discussion of various controversial subjects for the sake of getting along,” Meyler said. “But that does not support a rich, deliberative community, whether at a university or more broadly. Especially in an educational environment, it’s so important to be able to engage with critiques of one’s own perspective.”

In addition to her work derived from Faculty Senate documents, Meyler will support ongoing developments in Title VI processes and protections against doxxing informed by Assistant Professor Evelyn Douek’s policy lab at Stanford Law School.

When asked about advice for engaging with opposing views, Meyler shared an anecdote from her teaching days when she encouraged students to write papers from perspectives opposite their own beliefs.

“Sometimes it’s just seeking out someone you know who has a very different perspective and going for coffee with them, just having a conversation where you listen to their viewpoint and then figure out how you might respond,” she said. “And maybe you’ll end up with the same stance you had before but you’ll be exposed to multiple sides of a question which helps develop a more refined and well-considered position.”