Syracuse Sun

Thomas M. Keck, a professor of political science and the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, has been selected as a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation recognized Keck as a "culture-creator" among a diverse class of fellows this year.

Expressing his sentiments towards Keck's achievement, David M. Van Slyke, the dean of the Maxwell School, stated, “This is a highly prestigious recognition and an honor earned from Professor Thomas Keck’s research and long engagement on critical issues of democracy and governance. I congratulate him for this accomplishment. I thank him for being a valuable contributor to the Maxwell School and its students and for the public impact that his evidence-based research will have on dialogue, decision-making and policy in the United States and beyond. His expertise and insight on the U.S. Supreme Court and the First Amendment help strengthen our society’s democratic institutions.”

The Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to Keck will support his research on judicial decisions concerning free speech in the contemporary United States, European democracies facing similar challenges, and the U.S. during previous periods of democratic turmoil. This funding will facilitate the development of a book project titled “Extremist Speech and Democratic Backsliding.”

In response to receiving the fellowship, Keck expressed his gratitude, stating, “I am so grateful for this fellowship, as it will enable me to devote a full year of research and writing to this book project focused on speech restrictions during instances of democratic backsliding. Free speech restrictions are a recurring feature of democratic backsliding. I plan to examine whether and to what degree courts across time and space have checked anti-democratic and, arguably, pro-democratic speech restrictions amid democratic crises.”

With a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1999, Keck has established himself as one of the country’s leading experts on the modern Supreme Court. His scholarly contributions have been widely recognized, including his analysis of recent Supreme Court decisions and his research on the interplay between freedom of expression and academic freedom.

The Guggenheim Foundation's selection process for this year's fellows involved evaluating nearly 3,000 applications based on "prior career achievement and exceptional promise." Established in 1925 by Sen. Simon Guggenheim, the foundation has honored 19,000 fellows over the years, spanning various fields such as artists, scholars, photographers, novelists, and historians. The fellowship includes a stipend that enables recipients to pursue their work under "the freest possible conditions."

For a complete list of the 2024 Guggenheim Fellows, visit www.gf.org.