Stanford Law School will establish a professorship focused on the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, thanks to a $5 million gift made recently by the Stanton Foundation.

The Stanton Professorship of the First Amendment will honor the legacy of Dr. Frank Stanton, an American broadcasting executive who served as the president of CBS from 1946 to 1971 and then as vice chairman until 1973. He also served as the chairman of the RAND Corporation from 1961 to 1967. He was the founding chairman and, subsequently, a trustee of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University from 1953 to 1970.

“This extraordinary gift, in honor of one of the nation’s most passionate champions of journalism’s importance in a democratic society, will support the study and teaching of First Amendment freedoms,” said M. Elizabeth Magill, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and dean of the law school. “We are grateful to the Stanton Foundation for this lasting contribution.”

Stanton was a strong defender of free speech and was determined to use television as an “instrument of civic education.” In 1960 he supported the first televised presidential debates between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, which required a special act of Congress before they could proceed. These debates were credited with helping Kennedy win the presidency and have since become a staple of U.S. presidential campaigns.

The endowed chair will allow Stanford Law School to appoint a nationally recognized scholar with an interest and expertise in the First Amendment issues of freedom of speech and of the press and the impact of technology in these areas. Magill said the search for potential candidates for The Stanton Professorship of the First Amendment will begin shortly. “This gift will allow us to expand our scholarship in these areas and support the school’s core missions of teaching and research,” she noted.

This is the fourth gift that the Stanton Foundation has made to Stanford. The Stanton Foundation established its first endowed chair at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) in 2013 with a $5 million gift, followed by a second endowed chair at FSI in 2014, and also funded CISAC’s Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowships for pre- and post-doctoral students and junior faculty studying policy-relevant issues related to nuclear security.

About the Stanton Foundation

The Stanton Foundation, created by Dr. Frank Stanton, supports areas where he was unable to complete his charitable intentions during his lifetime. Classic and 21st century First Amendment issues and the larger challenge of the creation of a better informed citizenry are a major focus. The foundation also supports international security studies, with a strong emphasis on nuclear security and the promotion of canine welfare.