To reach a First Amendment Center staffer, call 615/727-1600.

First Amendment Center fact sheet

First Amendment Center
at Vanderbilt University
1207 18th Ave. S.
Nashville, TN 37212
Tel: 615/727-1600
Fax: 615/727-1319
E-mail: info@fac.org

First Amendment Center/Washington
555 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202/292-6288
Fax: 202/292-6295

First Amendment Center
We support the First Amendment and build understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.

The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.

The First Amendment Center, with offices at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C., is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. Its affiliation with Vanderbilt University is through the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies. Its offices on the Vanderbilt campus are located in the John Seigenthaler Center.

The center’s programs provide education and information to the public and groups including First Amendment scholars and experts, educators, government policy makers, legal experts and students. The center is nonpartisan and does not lobby or litigate.

The center’s Web site, www.firstamendmentcenter.org, is one of the most authoritative sources of news, information and commentary in the nation on First Amendment issues. It features daily updates on news about First Amendment-related developments, as well as information and detailed reports about U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment, and commentary, analysis and special reports involving free expression, press freedom and religious-liberty issues.

Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum, based in Washington, D.C., is a nonpartisan foundation that champions the First Amendment as a cornerstone of democracy.

The Freedom Forum is the main funder of the operations of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., the First Amendment Center and the Diversity Institute. The First Amendment Center and the Diversity Institute are housed in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. The First Amendment Center also has offices in Washington and the Diversity Institute has offices and programs at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

The Freedom Forum was established in 1991 under the direction of Founder Al Neuharth as successor to a foundation started in 1935 by newspaper publisher Frank E. Gannett. The Freedom Forum is not affiliated with Gannett Co. Its work is supported by income from an endowment of diversified assets.

Newseum
The Newseum educates the public about the value of a free press in a free society and tells the stories of the world’s important events in unique and engaging ways.

In its prominent location on historic Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the Newseum blends 500 years of news history, up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits for a one-of-a-kind museum experience.

The Newseum is funded by the Freedom Forum and, while independent of any media companies, receives additional support from individuals, corporations and foundations.

History
The First Amendment Center, founded by John Seigenthaler, was created on Dec. 15, 1991, the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The center has had three executive directors: From 1992 to 1997, Paul K. McMasters, later First Amendment ombudsman for the Freedom Forum and now retired; from 1997 to 2004, Ken Paulson, now president of the Freedom Forum; and Policinski, appointed in 2004.

The center’s Vanderbilt campus offices opened in 1993 in a new building funded by a $2 million grant from the Freedom Forum. The building, which also houses VIPPS, incorporated the former residence of the president of Peabody College, now a part of Vanderbilt University. Work was completed in November 2001 on an $8 million building expansion, which is home to offices and classrooms of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and administrative offices of the Freedom Forum.

In remarks on Dec. 15, 1991, announcing the creation of the First Amendment Center, Seigenthaler said it would be “a catalyst for study … of the values of free expression and religious liberty protected by the First Amendment.”

See FAQs about the First Amendment Center.

For more information: See First Amendment Center programs.

Executive staff & contacts
Vice president and executive director: Gene Policinski
Founder: John Seigenthaler
Freedom Forum chairman and chief executive officer: Charles L. Overby
Freedom Forum president and chief operating officer: Ken Paulson
Press contact: Office of the executive director, 615/727-1600

Other staff

Religious liberty
Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar

Legal research
Tiffany Villager, director/First Amendment studies

David L. Hudson Jr., First Amendment scholar, 615/727-1600

The First Amendment Library
Ronald K.L. Collins, First Amendment scholar

Web site
Brian J. Buchanan, managing editor

(Note to First Amendment attorneys or others: The Newseum is looking for actual items that were at the center of First Amendment legal cases, such as T-shirts, protest posters, censored newspapers/magazines, records, etc. If you have an artifact that you think might be suitable, please contact Carrie Christofferson.)