Old Dominion University
A to Z Index  |  Directories


Office of Academic Affairs


Faculty Handbook


 Search Handbook       

Academic Freedom

The university subscribes to the following 1940 statement on academic freedom of the American Association of University Professors, which has been endorsed by all important national organizations of higher education.

  1. Teachers are entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.

  2. Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject. Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.

  3. College and university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officers of an educational institution. When they 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 scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their 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 speaking for the institution.

 - Approved by the Board of Visitors
September 22, 1994
Transitioned to University-Level Policy
December 10, 2021
Revised July 15, 2022

          


   Compare with: