Donald Alexander Downs is an American political science professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison known for his work on the First Amendment

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

.

Downs received his Ph.D. from the University of California - Berkeley and his B.A. from Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

. He has taught at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 and the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 and is currently Professor of Political Science, Law, and Journalism at UW-Madison and a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. Downs has published many scholarly articles and books on the politics underlying central controversies in free speech, with a particular interest in recent years in academic freedom.

Downs is a co-founder of the Committee for Academic Freedom and Rights (CAFAR), and often speaks publicly in defense of academic freedom both at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and beyond.

Downs is also a noted Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 fan. He is known to speak freely on this topic. Downs has stated the he attended Wayland Academy

Wayland Academy

Wayland Academy is a private, coeducational college preparatory boarding high school located in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, USA. The student population at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year was 220...

 at the same time as wrestler Ric Flair

Ric Flair

Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....

. He serves as a non-voting adviser on the Board of Directors of The Badger Herald

The Badger Herald

The Badger Herald is a newspaper serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. Founded in 1969, it is one of America's first independent daily student newspapers. The paper is published Monday through Friday during the academic year...

, the student newspaper at UW-Madison.

Key Scholarly Works

• Nazis in Skokie: Freedom, Community and the First Amendment
• The New Politics of Pornography
• More than Victims: Battered Women, the Syndrome Society, and the Law
• Cornell `69: Liberalism and the Crisis of the American University
• Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus