3.10 Academic Freedom

  1. University teachers shall be entitled to academic freedom in the classroom in discussing the teachers’ course subject, but shall not introduce into the teaching controversial matters that have no relation to the subject. 
     
  2. Universities shall uphold the principle of academic freedom in their research and creative endeavors and support full freedom, within the law, of expressions in research investigation and dissemination of results through presentation, performance, and publication.
     
  3. University faculty members shall be entitled to academic freedom to pursue an area of research, to conduct and publish their work.  They shall not violate professional ethics and shall follow guidelines set forth by their institution regarding health, safety, and privacy of individuals.
     
  4. University faculty are also citizens. When they speak or write as citizens, they shall be free from institutional censorship or discipline.  They shall remember that the public may judge their institution by their public utterance. Thus, they shall make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.
     
  5. Regent universities shall not be or become an instrument of partisan political action. The expression of partisan political opinions and viewpoints shall be those of individuals, not of institutions, because the official adoption of any political position, whether favored by majority or minority, tends to substitute biased information that hinders the continuing search for truth.