Donald A. Downs is a professor of political science, law, and journalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. An expert on academic freedom, he has advised several schools and organizations on academic freedom issues. He is the president of the Committee for Academic Freedom and Rights (CAFAR), a University of Wisconsin-based group of faculty dedicated to protecting academic freedom on campus and in the state of Wisconsin.

He has taught courses dealing with many aspects of law and politics. Three of his books— Nazis in Skokie, The New Politics of Pornography, and Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus—have received national awards. Downs is currently writing a book entitled Arms and the University: Military Presence and the Civic Education of Non-Military Students. He has won numerous awards for teaching, including the university’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Downs has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell. He has also taught at the University of Michigan and Notre Dame.