Summary of Some Critical AAUP Statements

The AAUP provides many policy statements that can be helpful in articulating the importance of academic freedom in faculty meetings, collective bargaining negotiations, public statements, and other venues. Several useful statements include:

General Policy Statements

• “1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure.” This statement is the founding document of the AAUP, and lays out the broad argument about the social importance of academic freedom.

• “1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure.” This joint statement, negotiated between the AAUP and Association of American Colleges and Universities, and ratified by more than 250 academic professional associations, lays out the definition of academic freedom and tenure as the specific institutional mechanism for protecting academic freedom. It recognizes academic freedom in three areas: research, teaching, and “extramural utterances” (ie public speech).

• “Statement on Extramural Utterances” (1964) This statement clarifies the right “to speak or write as citizens, free from institutional censorship or discipline.” The statement recognizes that faculty cannot be fired for their extramural speech, except by “an appropriate—preferably elected—faculty committee” and that such assessments must include an examination of “the faculty member’s entire record as a teacher and scholar.” In other words, a single questionable Tweet should not be given the same weight as an entire career of teaching and scholarship.

• “On Academic Freedom and Electronic Communications” (2004). This statement clarifies that the protections of extramural speech “fully applies in the realm of electronic communications, including social media.”

• “Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities” (1966). Defines the university as jointly governed by the Board, which governs things like the endowment, physical plant, and personnel issues, and the faculty, which has “primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process.”

Statements on Specific Contemporary Issues

• In response to recent attacks on Critical Race Theory (CRT), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, and affirmative action, the AAUP released its “Statement on Political Interference in Higher Education” (2024), “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Criteria in Faculty Evaluation” (2024), “On Eliminating Discrimination and Achieving Equality in Higher Education” (2024)

• The statement “Legislative Threats to Academic Freedom: Redefinitions of Antisemitism and Racism” (2023) examines the threats to academic freedom posed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of antisemitism as well as attacks on “critical race theory” (2023).

• The AAUP has also produced a number of statements about academic freedom in the context of the Israel-Hamas war, including “Academic Freedom in Times of War” (2023), “Polarizing Times Demand Robust Academic Freedom” (2023), and has signed on to the labor statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and condemned efforts to crack down on campus protests.

• The “Statement on Academic Boycotts” (2024) clarifies the AAUP’s position on academic boycotts.