Haiman, Franklyn Saul

Teacher, scholar, and free speech advocate Franklyn S. Haiman was born on June 23, 1921 and raised in what he later termed the “socially segregated” Jewish community of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Haiman received his MA and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University, both in Speech. He joined NU's faculty in 1948, where he remained beyond his 1991 retirement, continuing to lecture and participate in panels at the University for years to come. Haiman was also involved with the ACLU for many years.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Haiman entered the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 and served as a clerk for two years at an airbase in Norfolk County, England. In 1945, using G.I. Bill funding, he enrolled as a graduate student at Northwestern University, where in 1946 he earned his Master of Arts degree in Speech and in 1948, his Doctorate degree in Speech with a minor in Psychology. While a graduate student, he chaired the General Assembly of Northwestern's Mock United Nations (1946).

From January to August 1948 Haiman served as Lecturer in Psychology at Northwestern; from September 1948 until 1951, as Instructor of Speech; from 1951 to 1956, as Assistant Professor of Speech; and from 1956 to 1961, as Associate Professor of Group Communication. In September 1961 Haiman was promoted to Professor of Group Communication (later altered to “Group Communication and Urban Affairs,” and subsequently “Communication Studies and Urban Affairs”); and in 1988, he was elected to the endowed John Evans professorship in Communication Studies, a position that he would hold until his retirement in 1991. He served as Chair of the Communications Department from 1964 until 1975. In 1955 Haiman married Louise Goble, a graduate school colleague “who had grown up in social and economic circumstances as different from mine as the United States is wide.” Their children Mark David and Eric Saul were born respectively in 1958 and 1960.

A scholar specializing in First Amendment issues, Haiman held leadership positions in academic and political organizations including the American Association of University Professors [AAUP], the Speech Association of America [SAA], the Speech Communication Association [SCA] and the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU]. From 1961 until 1962 Haiman was President of the Northwestern chapter of AAUP, which he also served as Vice President from 1982 until 1983. His role in the SCA included founding and chairing the organization's Commission on Freedom of Speech (1961-1965). In the SAA, Haiman served as Vice-Chairman (1958) and Chairman (1959) of the Interest Group on Discussion and Group Methods, and a member of the Committee on Professional Ethics and Standards (1960-1963). From 1961 to 1965 Haiman chaired the SAA's Committee on Freedom of Speech, of which he remained a member until 1971. From 1965 to 1968 and from 1978 to 1980, he also served as Associate Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech .

Haiman's involvement with the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] began in 1958, when reports of racial discrimination at Evanston Township High School prompted him to lead an ACLU North Shore Committee investigation into the allegations. Following inquiries into the censorship activities of the Evanston Citizens for Decent Literature (book censorship) and the Evanston Police Department (movie censorship), the Illinois Division of the ACLU elevated Haiman's North Shore Committee to chapter status, with Haiman serving as the chapter's President and representative to the state board. In this capacity Haiman led an ACLU lawsuit ( Haiman v. Morris, 1961) against suburban chiefs of police who had ordered the banning and confiscation from local bookstores of Henry Miller's allegedly “obscene” novel Tropic of Cancer . From 1964 until 1975 Haiman served as the ACLU's Illinois Division Chairman and, beginning in 1966, as its representative to the National Board of Directors. His other ACLU offices included membership on the Civil Liberties Review editorial board (1972 -1979); National Corporate Secretary (1976-1982); and National Executive Committee member (1976-1984) and Vice President (from 1987).

Haiman published and lectured extensively in the areas of First Amendment rights and group interactions. His monographs include Group Leadership and Democratic Action (1951); The Dynamics of Discussion (1960); Freedom of Speech: Issues and Cases (1965); Freedom of Speech (1976); The Dynamics of Discussion: Communication in Small Groups, 2 nd Edition (1980); and Speech and Law in a Free Society (1984). In addition to books, Haiman has produced many opinion pieces and scholarly articles, including studies of dissent and expression in Denmark, France, and Japan. Since 1947 his speaking engagements included conference and workshop presentations, television appearances, public debates, and lectures at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Haiman's scholarship and free speech advocacy earned many recognitions, including the Illinois Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Award (1967), the ACLU's Harry Kalven Freedom of Expression Award (1978), the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award (1981), the Speech Communication Association Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Book (1982); the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award (1982); the Central States Speech Association's Distinguished Communicator Award (1983); and a Fulbright Visiting Lectureship in Paris, France (1989).

Upon Franklyn Haiman's retirement from full-time teaching in 1991, Northwestern University honored him with an academic conference entitled “Freedom of Speech and the American Community.” As Professor Emeritus he continued to lecture, conduct seminars, and participate in panel discussions.