AAC&U Announces the Winner of the 2025 Frederic W. Ness Book Award: The Right to Learn

Posted by American Association of Colleges and Universities on October 21, 2025

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has today that The Right to Learn: Resisting the Right-Wing Attack on Academic Freedom, edited by Valerie C. Johnson, Jennifer Ruth, and Ellen Schrecker and published by Beacon Press, is the winner of the 2025 Frederic W. Ness Book Award. The Ness award is given annually to the book that best illuminates the goals and practices of a contemporary liberal education, and it will be formally presented to the editors at AAC&U’s Annual Meeting, on January 22, 2026, in Washington, DC. Valerie Johnson is professor of political science at DePaul University, Jennifer Ruth is professor of film studies at Portland State University, and Ellen Schrecker is professor emerita of American history at Yeshiva University.

The Right to Learn is an anthology that examines challenges to academic freedom in the United States over the past four decades, with a focus on recent debates over issues such as critical race theory and restrictions on classroom discussions of gender and sexuality. Through contributions from activists, scholars, and legal experts, the book situates these conflicts within broader political and cultural trends. Organized in three parts, it provides context, analysis, and practical insights for educators and others concerned with the role of higher education in a democratic society.

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