Dr. Tim Shiell is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of English, Philosophy & Communication Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, where he has been a faculty member since 1992. He is the founder and director of the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation (MCSII) and currently serves as the Interim Director of the newly established University of Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue. Dr. Shiell is also the Principal Investigator for the 2023 UW Student Free Speech Survey.
His scholarly work focuses on the First Amendment, ethics, and the philosophy of law, and he has authored Campus Hate Speech on Trial and African Americans and the First Amendment. A committed advocate for free speech, Dr. Shiell has contributed over 200 papers, workshops, and presentations to both scholarly and public audiences. He has been a key player in revising campus speech codes and defending the rights of faculty and students to express their views without censorship. Dr. Shiell earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Iowa and his B.A. in Philosophy from Moorhead State University. His work continues to influence the ongoing fight for academic freedom and the protection of free expression in higher education.
