Penn State is committed to free speech and to expanding the Penn State community’s understanding of the First Amendment. A Primer on the First Amendment has been created to address the University’s stance on free speech and to provide further information on how Penn State protects this right. Additional resources include:
- a website, Addressing Bias: Rights, Responsibilities and Responses, is available to faculty, staff, and students who want to know more about how they can use their voices to engage in critical dialogue on difficult topics.
- a video of President Neeli Bendapudi explaining why adhering to the First Amendment is critical for ensuring free speech for everyone.
- The Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, housed in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
- Campus Free Speech Guide from PEN America
The concept of academic freedom is an elusive one, having been defined differently by faculty, universities, and courts. The 1940 Statement on Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure, which was jointly issued by the American Association of University Professors and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, forms the basis of many institutions’ academic freedom policies. Penn State Policy AC64 outlines Penn State faculty members’ rights and responsibilities with respect to academic freedom. The policy outlines faculty rights and responsibilities with regard to four areas:
- As a citizen: “When the faculty member speaks or writes as a citizen, the faculty member shall be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but the special position in the community held by the faculty member imposes special obligations….the faculty member agrees at all times to be accurate, to exercise appropriate restraint, to show respect for the opinions of others, and to make every effort to indicate that he/she is not an institutional spokesperson.”
- As related to the University: “The faculty member agrees, therefore, to abide by the regulations of the University, and to perform to the best of his/her ability such reasonable duties as are assigned by authorized University officials. Faculty members are free to speak and write on governance issues of their respective departments, colleges, units, libraries, and of the University as a whole, and are free to speak and write on all matters related to their professional duties without institutional discipline or restraint.”
- In research and publication: “Faculty members are free to engage in research or scholarship of their own undertaking, and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of other academic duties.”
- In instructional roles: “Faculty members are…responsible for the maintenance of appropriate standards of scholarship and teaching ability, and for ensuring that there is no insertion or intrusion of material that has no relations to the subject matter of instruction….The faculty member is normally bound not to take advantage of his/her position by introducing into the classroom provocative discussions of irrelevant subjects not within the field of his/her study.”