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Throughout his twenty-one-year tenure as president of Columbia University, Lee C. Bollinger was an outspoken national leader on many of the major issues confronting higher education and society more broadly. One of the country's preeminent First Amendment scholars, he published frequently on free speech and press while leading a wide range of transformational university initiatives. During a period marked by profound change, he spoke within and beyond the academy about the challenges facing journalism, global free speech, and academic freedom, as well as the critical value of increasing racial and cultural diversity in higher education through affirmative action.

In Search of an Open Mind is a curated selection of Bollinger's speeches, articles, and opinion columns during these momentous decades, reflecting on many significant events and challenges. These pieces cover a broad array of topics, from civil rights and civil liberties to the nature of the university and living a good life. Bollinger spoke often about the essential role of affirmative action in college admissions in overcoming the long legacy of racial discrimination, having led the litigation in the landmark case of Grutter v. Bollinger, in which, for the first time, a majority of the Supreme Court upheld the practice as constitutional. With the engaging writing style of a seasoned speaker and gifted teacher, this book provides first-hand insights into central issues of our civic and political life that are as timely now as when they were originally delivered.