A year after her death, the generosity of Joan A. Tully, a 1969 Syracuse University graduate, will help fund the Tully Center for Free Speech as part of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

The purpose of the center is to educate students about the importance of an American’s right to the freedom of speech and its vital role in the media.

Tully, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and journalism at Syracuse, focused her career on media law, said Barbara Fought, an associate broadcast journalism professor who has been named director of the center.

Tully passed away from a brain tumor in 2005 and left a generous donation to fund the center to promote the research of media law, one of her passions.

The exact amount of Tully’s gift will not be known until after the Oct. 13 opening of the center, Fought said.

‘Tully cared about students and wanted to transfer her interest in journalism and law to other students,’ Fought said.

As requested by Tully, the center will hold annual symposiums and will recognize one journalism student who has shown courage while his or her free speech has been threatened. The first award will be announced in 2007.

‘I want students to have a better understanding of why the first amendment is essential to democracy,’ said David Rubin, Dean of Newhouse.

Rubin said he believes there has been a loss of support for freedom of speech after the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, because some believe the event suggested that free speech is dangerous.

To help students understand free speech, SU will sponsor the research of media law and promote collaborations between the Tully Center and other colleges within the university.

The Newhouse School requires all students to take a media law class. The Tully Center will improve that class by exposing students to leaders who have careers in media law, Fought said.

She said the center will enhance the learning experience for students by bringing in experts such as Floyd Abrams to speak to them.

Abrams, who will give the keynote address at the center’s Oct. 13 opening, is a prominent New York attorney who works with freedom of speech and press concerns. Tully worked with Abrams at the law firm, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.

According to Fought, the center’s opening will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Studio A of Newhouse II.

Events will include a question-and-answer session with Abrams and presentations by Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. There will also be an interview with Irving Feiner, a former SU student who was arrested after starting a rally advocating Black rights and fought his case to the Supreme Court and a speech entitled ‘Sex and Free Speech’ by LaVonda Reed-Huff, a SU College of Law professor.

The center’s opening and future events are open to all SU students.

Many Newhouse students expressed excitement about the Tully Center.

‘Education about media laws can help future advertisers avoid legal troubles within their careers … and help me set boundaries while thinking about my next ad campaign,’ said

Alyssa Henry, a freshman broadcast journalism major.

Sophomore advertising major Alison Leung said she notices the misunderstanding of the right to free speech, and that it is often taken for granted.

‘Free speech is about expressing yourself freely in a way that is beneficial to others in the hope of enacting change,’ Leung said. ‘The Tully Center of Free Speech will help me and other Newhouse students to learn more about the law aspect of journalism and work in the media industry.’

Fought said the Tully Center will teach students to face legal challenges they may face in their career.

‘It is easier for enemies to attack the First Amendment,’ Rubin said. ‘I want this center to be a friend to the First Amendment.’

Published on September 25, 2006 at 12:00 pm