Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Everett Piper To Receive Kirkpatrick Award For Academic Freedom

BARTLESVILLE, Okla., March 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Oklahoma Wesleyan University is proud to announce that its president Dr. Everett Piper will be the recipient of the 2016 Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick Award for Academic Freedom by The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) andThe Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

During a time of widespread campus upheaval over the discussion of controversial ideas, Dr. Piper wrote: "This is not a Daycare. It's a University!" He reminded the student body, and the public, that exposure to adversarial ideas is an integral part of higher education.  His response to student calls for "safe spaces", banned words, and other so-called protections from controversy reverberate with common sense and common decency.

The distinguished award, which carries a $10,000 stipend to the honoree, will be made at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Ronald Reagan Banquet on Friday, March 4, 2016.  The prize honors the memory of Dr. Kirkpatrick, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, for her outspokenness in the most hostile of environments, her clarity and determination in the midst of oppression, and her fierce dedication to American ideals and academic freedom.

"In a time when university administrators are giving in to what amounts to student temper tantrums, Everett Piper stands out for his adherence to the tradition of academic integrity and open inquiry," said Michael W. Grebe, President of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.  "Dr. Piper's stand for open discussion, and genuine mutual tolerance of dissent on campus is both rare and overdue."

Dr. Piper is the author of Why I Am A Liberal, and Other Conservative Ideas and The Wrong Side of the Door: Why Ideas Matter. He is an active participant in the Bartlesville community and the Wesleyan church, and serves on a variety of councils and boards relating to Christian leadership, public policy, and community leadership.

Piper received a B.A. from Spring Arbor University, a M.A. from Bowling Green State University, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Piper, please contact Rick Borman at (239) 777- 5555 or [email protected] 

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SOURCE Oklahoma Wesleyan University