2021 State of the First Amendment Address Scheduled for Nov. 17
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 1, 2021) — The 2021 State of the First Amendment Address, sponsored by the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center housed in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, will be delivered by media attorneys Tom Miller and Elizabeth Woodford, who successfully argued on behalf of the Kernel Press Inc., publisher of the student-produced Kentucky Kernel, in a yearslong open records case involving UK. In March of this year, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the university acted improperly when it prevented the Kernel from obtaining records regarding its reporting of a Title IX investigation.
Miller and Woodford, both with the Lexington firm Miller, Griffin & Marks, will discuss the case University of Kentucky v. Kernel Press, Inc., and the implications of the Kentucky Open Records Act, which stipulates "free and open examination of public records" even though such examination may cause “inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others."
The address is scheduled for 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, via Zoom.. The event is free and open to the public. Access to the event will be available at https://ci.uky.edu/jam/state-first-amendment-address.
Information about the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center at UK's School of Journalism and Media is available at https://ci.uky.edu/jam/scripps-howard-first-amendment-center.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.