Contents
Catalog Links

Academic Freedom

Members of the faculty are assured academic freedom, in accordance with the policies of the Administration of the College. Definition of this provision is based on the following tenets from the 1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure with 1970 Interpretive Comments published by the Association of American Colleges and the American Association of University Professors with later modifications:

  1. Teachers are entitled to full freedom in scholarship and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties; but scholarship for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.
  2. Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject. Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.
  3. College and university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officers of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.