ACD 201: Academic Freedom

To promote academic freedom

Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual - 6–201

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost of the University

Faculty Senate

Personnel Policies and Procedures for Academic Professionals

Personnel Policies and Procedures for Faculty

Faculty

Academic professionals

The pursuit and communication of knowledge at ASU are to be free from restrictions. The university endorses in principle the 1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure set forth by the American Association of University Professors and the Association of American Colleges and the 1929 Statement of the American Association of University Professors concerning resignations.

Consistent with the principles of academic freedom, the following motion was adopted by the Faculty Senate on March 31, 1969:

The common and primary commitment of every faculty member at Arizona State University is respect for the following rights:

1. the right of all to search for truth and knowledge without obstruction or restraint
2. the right of all to attempt to persuade by reasoned argument or peaceful processes

   and

3. the right of all to form judgments based on full and free exploration, exposition, and discussion.

Deliberately violent, obstructive, or disruptive action of groups or individuals which is prejudicial to academic freedom and destructive to the pursuit of learning at this university is unacceptable.

In developing the Personnel Policies and Procedures for Faculty, the Faculty Senate recommended the following statement in February 1982; the statement was approved by the university in July 1982:

Institutions of higher education exist for the common good, and the common good depends on academic freedom: the free search for, and the free exposition of, truth. Academic freedom applies in both research and teaching. Freedom in research is essential for the true advancement of knowledge; academic freedom in teaching is essential for the protection of the rights of both the teacher and the student in the free interchange of ideas.

Academic freedoms are the right of every faculty member, tenured or not. These freedoms include:

1. Freedom in research and in the publication of results.

   This freedom does not relieve the faculty member of the responsibility for carrying out other duties of the position.

2. Freedom in teaching to discuss a field of competence without restrictions on content or method.

   In the exercise of this freedom, the faculty member should be careful not to introduce controversial matters which have no relation to the subject matter of the course. The faculty member is also obligated to encourage the free pursuit of learning by students. The faculty member adheres to a proper role as intellectual guide and counselor. Every reasonable effort is made to foster honest academic conduct and to assure that evaluation of students reflects the true merit of their work. The confidential nature of the relationship between faculty member and student is respected. Significant assistance from students is acknowledged in publication of the results of research.

3. Freedom as a private citizen to speak out on public issues.

   The special position of the faculty member as a person of learning and an educational officer in the community, however, imposes the special obligation that he or she must remember that the public may judge the profession and the institution on the basis of such public utterances. The faculty member measures all rights and obligations as a citizen against rights and responsibilities to the field of specialization, to students, profession, and institution. When speaking, writing, or acting as a private person, the faculty member avoids creating the impression that he or she is speaking for the university.

4. Freedom to be judged by one’s colleagues, in accordance with fair procedures, in matters of promotion, tenure, and discipline, on the basis of the faculty member’s professional qualifications and professional conduct.