Edward Remus is an Associate Professor and Social Sciences Librarian at Northeastern Illinois University. He began his career organizing viewpoint-diverse discussions and debates while working for the Chicago Public Library from 2013 to 2015. Since joining the NEIU Libraries in 2015, he has organized nearly a dozen scholarly, viewpoint-diverse panel discussions of topics ranging from abortion law and the Second Amendment to political realignment and the political status of Puerto Rico. In 2022 he won and administered a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to fund a series of viewpoint-diverse panel discussions on topics related to the United States Constitution. Edward also designed and taught a history course that surveys the scholarly and public responses to the 2019 New York Times-published 1619 Project; this course features texts written from progressive, socialist, conservative, and liberal viewpoints and culminates in a discussion-debate among student participants. Edward is currently collaborating with the NEIU History Department to develop an MA certificate in viewpoint diversity.
Edward is passionate about working with librarians and higher education professionals to develop effective methods for integrating viewpoint diversity into public events, for-credit courses, institutional policies, and more. Throughout his many years of public speaking, Edward has equipped professional audiences with both the theoretical foundations and the practical skills necessary to curate and organize successful viewpoint-diverse events and programs. His forthcoming book chapter, “Curating the Scholarly Controversy: Partnering with Subject Faculty to Organize Viewpoint-Diverse Panel Discussions,” will be published in Teaching Information Literacy in Political Science, Public Affairs, and International Studies (Association of College and Research Libraries, forthcoming 2025).
Edward serves as Chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table Programming & Events Committee. He previously served on the Illinois Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. He has spoken on record about how librarians can respond effectively to ideologically-motivated challenges to viewpoint-diverse programming and about how such programming positions libraries to facilitate reasoned discussion and debate. Edward has been a member of the HxLibraries community since 2021.
Edward is a proud member of organizations including Heterodox Academy, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Academic Freedom Alliance, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the American Library Association.