Penn will release a revised draft of the University’s Guidelines on Open Expression next week, Provost John Jackson Jr. wrote in a Wednesday message to the campus community.
The draft — which administrators will publish in Penn’s Almanac on March 31 — is the latest iteration of University-wide regulations surrounding open expression. After circulating the document, Penn will solicit feedback from faculty, staff, and students to help shape the final set of policies.
“Penn’s commitment to open expression is a bedrock principle of our campus community and central to our institutional mission,” Jackson wrote. “Your feedback will help ensure that President Jameson receives a well-vetted draft for his consideration later this year.”
A final version of the guidelines is set to be presented at a University Council meeting on Sept. 9. During the review process leading up to the presentation, members of the Penn community will have the opportunity to submit feedback through an anonymous online survey.
In addition to the survey, which will close on May 18, students and faculty can attend two community listening sessions about the guidelines, one virtual and one in-person.
Jackson described the process of implementing recommendations as an effort to reflect Penn’s “enduring commitment to open expression while also capturing institutional expectations around clarity and campus safety.”
In 2024, Penn charged a faculty-led task force to review both the Guidelines on Open Expression and the Temporary Standards and Procedures for Campus Events and Demonstrations — which are currently in effect and were rolled out after a semester of heightened campus demonstrations, including a 16-day pro-Palestinian encampment on College Green.
“We conducted a review of past University approaches to such revisions; consulted with the Office of General Counsel, Division of Public Safety, and Division of University Life; and reached out to the Faculty Senate Tri-Chairs for their guidance, especially about next steps,” Jackson added.
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The update comes after Penn’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors criticized the current state of open expression on campus, including the lack of “transparency and meaningful input from campus stakeholders.”
In its March 19 letter, AAUP-Penn wrote that the process of revising the guidelines “remains opaque, seemingly operating by invitation rather than any sort of democratic or representative process.”
In an interview with the The Daily Pennsylvanian, Jessa Lingel, Penn’s AAUP chapter president, stated that faculty “frustration is largely around shared governance and the lack of transparency around why these temporary guidelines have been so seemingly permanent.”
While Lingel called Penn’s decision to field input from campus stakeholders “wonderful,” she said that she is “not optimistic that the administration will ultimately release guidelines that are in keeping with what AAUP-Penn considers to be necessary for a vibrant campus life where difficult topics can be discussed reasonably and feasibly.”
Noting how “the open expression guidelines have transformed over Penn’s history,” Lingel described an overall “encroachment” on the ability for community members to engage with their “constitutionally-protected right to peaceful assembly.”
She added that Faculty Senate Chair Kathleen Brown “has really been pushing for this process to follow historical guidelines” and “be transparent.”
Penn has also invited faculty and staff to nominate themselves and others for participation on the Committee on Open Expression for the 2026-27 academic year, among other standing committees of the University Council.
Penn President Larry Jameson addressed open expression — among other University commitments — in a March 18 message to the Penn community.
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Penn to gather community input on open expression guidelines amid faculty calls for ‘transparency’
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Staff reporter Kathryn Ye covers central administration and can be reached at ye@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies biochemistry and philosophy.
