Editorial note: The following statement is an excerpt
adapted from
the 1940 "Statement
statement of principles
Principles on
Academic Freedom and Tenure" of the American Association of University
Professors. It has been revised in the light of the "Interpretative Comments"
appended to the "Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure" in
1970.
concerning academic freedom and tenure
formulated by representatives of the association of American colleges (AAC) and
of the American association of university professors (AAUP) and agreed upon at
a joint conference November 8, 1940. The statement was endorsed by the AAC at
its annual meeting on January 9, 1941, and by the AAUP on December 28, 1941. It
has been edited to contain gender-neutral language.
(A) The teacher is entitled to full freedom
in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate
performance of other academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should
be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the
institution.
(B)
The teacher is entitled to freedom in the classroom
in discussing the subject, but the teacher should be careful not to introduce
into this teaching controversial matter that has no relation to the subject.
Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the
institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of
appointment.
Although faculty are entitled to
freedom in the classroom in discussing the subject, they should avoid
persistently intruding material which has no relation to the
subject.
(C) The college or
university teacher is a citizen, a member of a learned profession, and an
officer of an educational institution. When speaking or writing as a citizen,
the teacher should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but
special position in the community imposes special obligations. As a person of
learning and an educational officer, the teacher should remember that the
public may judge the profession and the institution by the teacher's
utterances. Hence, the teacher 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 the teacher is not an institutional
spokesperson. A faculty member's expression of opinion
as a citizen cannot constitute grounds for discipline or dismissal unless it
clearly demonstrates that the faculty member is unfit for the faculty position
in question. Extramural utterances will rarely bear upon a faculty member's
fitness for the position. Moreover, any final decision on discipline or
dismissal should take into account the faculty member's entire record as a
teacher and scholar.
(D)
The protections of academic freedom and the obligations
of academic responsibility apply not only to full-time faculty but also to all
others whose responsibilities involve teaching or research, including part-time
faculty and graduate assistants.
