Academic Freedom

This 1994 statement addresses campus speech codes and advises consideration of means more compatible with the mission of an academic institution by which to deal with incivility, intolerance, offensive speech, and harassing behavior.

This 1970 statement, revised in 1990, addresses the ethical responsibilities that go along with academic freedom in the interests of reasoned inquiry. Especially in a repressive atmosphere, the faculty’s responsibility to defend its freedoms cannot be separated from its responsibility to uphold those freedoms by its own actions.

This 1967 joint statement enumerates the essential provisions for students’ freedom to learn, including guidelines related to access to higher education, rights in the classroom, student records, student affairs, and procedural standards in disciplinary proceedings.

This 1964 statement clarifies those sections of the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure relating to the faculty member’s exercise of freedom of speech as a citizen. It concludes by emphasizing that in a democratic society, freedom of speech is an indispensable right of the citizen.

This 1957 set of regulations outlines recommended institutional processes that enable institutions to protect academic freedom, tenure, and to ensure academic due process. Revised and expanded periodically, last in 2023, the rules are set forth in language suitable for use by an institution of higher education.

This 1940 statement (known as the "the 1940 Statement") sought to promote public understanding and support of academic freedom and tenure and agreement upon procedures to ensure them in colleges and universities. It emphasizes that institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good, which depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition.