In 1915, the American Association of University Professors promulgated its “Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure.” The Declaration explained that “[a] university is a great and indispensable organ of the higher life of a civilized community,” and thus that “any restriction” on professors’ teaching or research “is bound to react injuriously upon the efficiency and the morale of the institution, and therefore ultimately upon the interests of the community.” The principles articulated in the Declaration have profoundly shaped the theory and practice of American academic freedom, and the Declaration’s centennial provides an opportunity to consider important issues in American higher education law and practice.
Panel members for this President's Program will consider such questions as: How well has the 1915 Declaration held up? If we were drafting a similar statement of principles in light of all that has changed over the past 100 years, what would we discard, revise, or add? What are the synergies and tensions between individual and institutional academic freedom? How well do lawmakers, jurists, and the public understand and value academic freedom? What are the major challenges for both constitutional and professional academic freedom today, and what challenges can we foresee in the coming years?