SALT LAKE CITY — The new commissioner appointed to oversee Utah's higher education system faced questions about campus protests, tuition hikes and academic freedom at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Geoffrey Landward, currently the interim commissioner for the Utah System of Higher Education, appeared before the Senate Education Confirmation Committee as more pro-Palestine demonstrations took place on Utah college campuses. Asked by committee chair Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, about protests at the University of Utah that resulted in arrests this week, Landward defended the school.
"We need to protect free speech. We also need to protect these campuses and there’s a balance to do that," he said.
Speaking to FOX 13 News following his hearing, Landward said that he was open to reviewing how schools are enforcing any restrictions surrounding protests (for example, the U enforced anti-camping laws for the demonstrators but has allowed camping on campus in the past for ESPN's College Game Day program).
"I think we’re definitely going to take an opportunity to say, having gone through this and having seen what is happening on our campuses, are there ways to make this better?" Landward said. "Do we need to clarify things to ensure that people who want to exercise their right to free speech understand what the rules are and why the rules are in place and if there are exceptions, what those exceptions are so so they know what the ground rules are before they come."
Landward faced questions from Sen. John Johnson, R-North Ogden, who filed a bill earlier this year seeking to create a "School of General Education" at the University of Utah. That bill would require education on Western civilization, Christianity and the founding principles of "natural rights, liberty, equality, representative democracy, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and constitutional self-government," among other topics. The bill, which critics said was an attack on academic freedom, failed to pass the legislature after push back — including from the Utah System of Higher Education.
"One of the things across the country that is troubling to me, and that is the loss of focus if you look what's going in the Ivy Leagues, you have this so-called competition between a mission based on social justice versus one based on discovery of truth... how do we keep from falling into the same trap?" Sen. Johnson asked Landward.
Landward noted the concerns about the legislation's approach, but said he is willing to engage in the questions raised by the bill. He said he wanted to ensure college students are critical thinkers who hear a variety of viewpoints.
"I always have a concern and need to try and protect academic freedom as a fundamental pillar of the success of higher education," he told Sen. Johnson. "But that doesn’t mean we get to ignore or should ignore the needs of the state as expressed to us through our elected leaders."
Asked about his goals, Landward said he wants the Utah System of Higher Education to review programs offered by colleges and universities to avoid duplication of resources where it's unnecessary. He also was asked about tuition increases imposed by schools (following a freeze instituted by Governor Spencer Cox) and said he would scrutinize if a tuition hike was necessary.
"I love the idea of your commitment to a different... customer service approach," said Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City. "I think that’s trend we’re now seeing in state government, they are our clients, they are paying tuition."
Landward's nomination won unanimous support from the committee. The full Utah State Senate will vote to confirm him later this month.
