Hello John,

I am writing today to announce that the winner of the inaugural Richard D. McLellan Prize of $50,000 for Advancing Free Speech and Expression is Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). 

He is also the author of a number of books, including The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (with Jonathan Haidt) and The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All—But There Is a Solution (with Rikki Schlott).

Lukianoff will be presented with the McLellan Prize during an evening event on December 5, 2024, in Grand Rapids, MI, at the Amway Grand Plaza.

Governor John Engler, also a member of the Kirk Center’s board of trustees, said that, “Greg understands the central importance of the First Amendment as few do in our time. He takes a backseat to no one in advancing the ideas necessary to foster a free and responsible society. He is a worthy recipient of the inaugural Richard D. McLellan free speech prize of $50,000.”

Governor Mitch Daniels wrote in a recent Washington Post op-ed that Lukianoff is the “MVP for Team Freedom.” He successfully directs America’s leading free speech watchdog group and routinely highlights examples of free speech abuses. Daniels noted that The Canceling of the American Mind, in particular, “inundated its readers with examples of the abuses, and the viciousness, with which the mini-tyrants in our institutions have been stifling the views they deem unacceptable, while trying to compel obeisance to their own brand of orthodoxy.”

The Richard D. McLellan Prize of $50,000 was established in 2023 to draw attention to the central importance of the free speech tradition and encourage innovative work in that space. It is the largest annual prize for distinction and influence in prompting a culture of free speech and expression. 

The McLellan Prize is named in honor of Richard D. McLellan of East Lansing, Michigan. Mr. McLellan is a prominent Michigan attorney who has contributed to virtually all areas of civil political discourse at state, national, and international levels over the past 50 years. “I am proud that this prize bears my name,” McLellan said. “The future of our republic depends on understanding that a free society requires open debate and civil discourse.”

For more information about the upcoming McLellan Prize Award Gala on December 5th in Grand Rapids, including sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kirk Center Events director, Emily Corwin ([email protected]). Tickets for the event may be purchased here.

Yours in Ordered Libery,

Jeffrey O. Nelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director & CEO