Gregory Christopher Lukianoff (; born 1974) is an American journalist, author and activist who serves as the president of the

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a non-profit Civil liberties in the United States, civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protectin ...

(FIRE). He previously served as FIRE's first director of legal and public advocacy until he was appointed president in 2006.

Life

Born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in 1974,https://thebestschools.org/features/greg-lukianoff-interview/ Lukianoff is a graduate of

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

and

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

Work

Lukianoff has published articles in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Inside Higher Ed ''Inside Higher Ed'' is a media company and online publication that provides news, opinion, resources, events and jobs focused on college and university topics. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold Inside Higher Education to Time ...

'', and the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

''. His article in ''The Atlantic'', "The Coddling of the American Mind" discussed whether or not

trigger warnings A trauma trigger is a psychological stimulus that prompts involuntary recall of a previous traumatic experience. The stimulus itself need not be frightening or traumatic and may be only indirectly or superficially reminiscent of an earlier trauma ...

are harming

college health College health is a desired outcome created by a constellation of services, programs and policies directed at advancing the health and wellbeing of individuals enrolled in an institution of higher education, while also addressing and improving bot ...

. He is a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ger for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' and served as a regular

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

for the ''Daily Journal of Los Angeles and San Francisco''. Along with

Harvey Silverglate Harvey Allen Silverglate (born May 10, 1942) is an attorney, journalist, writer, and co-founder of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Silverglate was a member of the board of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Civi ...

and

David A. French David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American political commentator and former attorney who has argued high-profile religious liberty cases. He is a columnist for ''The New York Times''. Formerly a fellow at the National Review Insti ...

, Lukianoff is a co-author of FIRE's ''Guide to Free Speech on Campus''. He testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on the state of free speech on college campuses, and he appeared in the films ''

Brainwashing 101 ''Indoctrinate U'' is a 2007 American feature-length documentary film written by, directed by and starring Evan Coyne Maloney, that examines controversial topics like equality and fairness, diversity, ideological conformism and political correctne ...

'' and ''

Indoctrinate U ''Indoctrinate U'' is a 2007 United States, American feature-length documentary film written by, directed by and starring Evan Coyne Maloney, that examines controversial topics like equality and fairness, diversity, ideological conformism and poli ...

'' on the same topic. He has made numerous appearances on nationally syndicated news broadcasts, like CNN and FOX News. He has also appeared on various news shows, including '' Stossel'' on more than one occasion. Before joining FIRE, Lukianoff interned with the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

of Northern California and the Organization for Aid to Refugees, and was a development coordinator for the ''EnvironMentors Project''. He lives in New York City. Lukianoff and his co-author

Jonathan Haidt Jonathan David Haidt (; born October 19, 1963) is an American social psychologist and author. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University Stern School of Business. His main areas of study are the psychology of ...

were awarded the

Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award is an award created in honor of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards were established in 1979 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort ...

in 2019 for their book ''

The Coddling of the American Mind ''The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure'' is a 2018 book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. It is an expansion of a popular essay the two wrote for ''The Atlantic'' in 201 ...

''. He served as executive producer on the 2015 documentary about self-censorship and cultural awareness in comedy, ''

Can We Take a Joke? ''Can We Take a Joke?'' is a 2015 documentary film by filmmaker Ted Balaker and narrated by Christina Pazsitzky. The film explores a comedian-piloted dialogue about modern uses of freedom of speech in the United States. Summary The creators des ...

'', and the 2020 documentary about former ACLU executive director

Ira Glasser Ira Saul Glasser (born April 18, 1938) served as the fifth executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1978 to 2001. His life was the subject of the 2020 documentary '' Mighty Ira''. Early years Ira Glasser was born on ...

's mission to defend Nazis' right to protest in a Jewish residential area, which caused 30,000 members to leave the ACLU.

Works

* * *

References

External links

FIRE – Lukianoff profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukianoff, Greg 1974 births 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century atheists Activists from New York City American atheists American University alumni Free speech activists HuffPost writers and columnists Living people People from Brooklyn People from Danbury, Connecticut People from Manhattan Stanford Law School alumni