The Tully Center for Free Speech is an organization within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York focused on First Amendment speech and journalism issues. ¹

Background

Founded in 2006, the Tully Center for Free Speech (often referred to simply as the Tully Center) is an organization within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. The funding for the center derives from a bequest of Joan A. Tully, an alumna of Syracuse University who worked for media organizations including the Associated Press, Dow Jones Newswire, and the Brussels Times, as well as law firms where she specialized on First Amendment cases. ¹

Activity

Speeches

The Tully Center invites speakers, particularly winners of its “Tully Award,” to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University to speak on issues affecting freedom of speech and the press. Past speakers invited by the center include First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, activist and economist Daniel Ellsberg, and pornography publisher Larry Flynt. ²

Tully Award

Every year the Tully Center for Free Speech awards a “Tully Award” to a journalist that it argues has shown “courage” in facing a threat to the freedom of their speech. Awardees visit the Syracuse University campus, participate in an award program, and receive $2,500. Past recipients of the award include Igor Rudnikov, the editor of a newspaper in Kaliningrad, Russia; Maria Ressa, a journalist in the Philippines who reported on allegations of corruption in the Duterte Administration; and Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post foreign correspondent active in Iran who had been arrested in that country. ^{3 4 5}

Leadership

Staff

Roy Gutterman is director of the Tully Center for Free Speech as well as an associate professor of magazine, news, and digital journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Previously, Gutterman worked as a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, clerked for a New Jersey Superior Court judge, and was head of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Law and Policy division. ⁶

Additionally, Gutterman is the program director of the Burton Foundation for Legal Achievement and a member of the Freedom of Information Committee, the Legal Defense Fund Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, and the faculty committee for the Government Accountability Project. ⁶

Madison Neuner is a research assistant at the Tully Center for Free Speech. Previously, Neuner was the editor-in-chief of the Red & Black sports magazine at Northeastern University. ⁷

Richard Perrins is the undergraduate student liaison at the Tully Center for Free Speech. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of The Daily Orange, a Syracuse University student newspaper, and a data reporter for AccuWeather as part of the Dow Jones News Fund program. ⁷

Advisory Board

The advisory board of the Tully Center for Free Speech includes Jennifer Borg, Counsel at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden; Keith Bybee, vice dean and professor at the Syracuse University College of Law; Jesse Feitel, an associate with Davis Wright Tremaine; Aileen Gallagher, an associate professor and chair of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University; Mark Goldstone, an attorney practicing in the Washington, D.C. area; Michael Grygiel, a shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; Joel Kaplan, an associate dean of the Newhouse School of Public Communications; David Marburger, a partner at BakerHostetler; and LaVonda Reed, the dean of Georgia State University College of Law. ⁸ “Advisory Board.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications: Tully Center for Free Speech. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/centers/tully-center-for-free-speech/about/tully-center-advisory-board/[/note

1. “About.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications: Tully Center for Free Speech. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/centers/tully-center-for-free-speech/about/
2. Homepage. Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications: Tully Center for Free Speech. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/centers/tully-center-for-free-speech/
3. Muller, Jordan. “Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian wins 2016 Tully Free Speech Award.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications. October 25, 2016. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/news/washington-post-reporter-jason-rezaian-wins-2016-tully-free-speech-award/?_gl=1*zm2wsb*_gcl_au*MTczMTUzMjI5MC4xNzIxMDMxNTc5*_ga*MjExODY1NjQ5Ny4xNzIxMDMxNTc5*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcyMjI4NTg2Mi41LjEuMTcyMjI4ODYzNi40OC4wLjA.
4. Rich, Lani Diane. “Maria Ressa receives Tully Award for Free Speech.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications. April 25, 2018. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/news/maria-ressa-receives-tully-award-for-free-speech/?_gl=1*rtutyp*_gcl_au*MTczMTUzMjI5MC4xNzIxMDMxNTc5*_ga*MjExODY1NjQ5Ny4xNzIxMDMxNTc5*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcyMjI4NTg2Mi41LjEuMTcyMjI4ODYzMS41My4wLjA.
5. “Tully Award.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications: Tully Center for Free Speech. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/centers/tully-center-for-free-speech/tully-award/
6. “Roy Gutterman.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/people/roy-gutterman?_gl=1*1tc7t5q*_gcl_au*MTczMTUzMjI5MC4xNzIxMDMxNTc5*_ga*MjExODY1NjQ5Ny4xNzIxMDMxNTc5*_ga_QT13NN6N9S*MTcyMjI3Nzk1OC40LjEuMTcyMjI3Nzk4Mi4zNi4wLjA.
7. “Staff.” Syracuse University: Newhouse School of Public Communications: Tully Center for Free Speech. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://newhouse.syracuse.edu/centers/tully-center-for-free-speech/about/staff/