SPLC’s Gary Green to speak at Augusta University’s Future of the First Amendment Lecture

By Jaxon Garner | Editor in Chief

The Student Press Law Center’s executive director, Gary Green, will deliver the 2025 Future of the First Amendment Lecture at Augusta University on March 11 at 7 p.m. in the JSAC Roscoe Williams Ballroom on the Summerville Campus.

Green’s lecture, titled “Student Journalism IS Journalism: We Must Protect Their Rights,” will explore the role of student journalists in combating news deserts and the challenges and opportunities they face in university environments.

Green has led the SPLC since April 2023. Previously, he directed the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University, overseeing publications such as Youth Today and the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. In 2021, he launched Fresh Take Georgia, a student-driven news service focused on legislative and statewide reporting.

Before his work in nonprofit journalism, Green served as digital director of the University of Florida’s Innovation News Center and deputy news director for WUFT, the NPR and PBS affiliate for north central Florida. His experience includes managing award-winning coverage across multiple platforms and co-founding Free Take Florida, a student-run news service.

Green’s career began as a photojournalist, with nearly two decades at publications including the Orlando Sentinel and the Akron Beacon Journal. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Ohio University and a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Florida.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the AU Libraries. Additional support comes from the AU Department of Communication, the AU Student Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Phoenix, the Bell Ringer, JagNews, and the Augusta Press.

Following Green’s talk, the AU Student SPJ Chapter will present the Champion of the First Amendment Awards.

For more information, contact David Kearns at dkearns@augusta.edu or David Bulla at dbulla@augusta.edu.