Faculty Handbook

8.1 ACADEMIC FREEDOM

From Faculty Handbook Approved June 1988

In recognition of the principle that a university of the first rank should have a clear statement of the privileges and responsibilities of its faculty under the right of academic freedom, the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System has adopted statement of its policy (32.01) relating to academic freedom.

1. The faculty member is entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of the teacher's other academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.

2. The faculty member is entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing subject matter, but should be careful not to introduce into teaching controversial matter which has no direct relation to the subject.

3. The college or university faculty member is a citizen, a member of a learned profession, and an officer of an educational institution. When teachers 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 people of learning and educational officers, teachers should remember that the public may judge the teaching profession and their institution by the teachers' 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 institutional spokespersons.

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