Robert J. Zimmer, who championed free speech as head of University of Chicago for 15 years, dies at 75

Mitch Dudek
Chicago Sun Times

Excerpt: Former University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer led the South Side institution for 15 years as a champion of free speech on campus at a time when the notion was being widely challenged.

Under his leadership, students were put on notice in 2016 that the university did not support canceling speakers because their topics might prove controversial or condone intellectual “safe spaces” where students could retreat from ideas at odds with their own.