Section 4 - Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures

II. Academic Freedom

Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good and not to further the interest of either the individual teacher or the institution as a whole. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. All members of the St. Olaf faculty shall have full academic freedom. St. Olaf College supports the general principles of academic freedom enunciated in the AAUP Statement (1940) of Principles of Academic Freedom and Tenure.

Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research. Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher and of the student for freedom in learning. It carries duties correlative with its rights.

1. It is the duty of the institution to recognize the right and full exercise of academic freedom on the part of its members.
   
2. Faculty members are entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties, the requirements of law, and the recognized standards of their profession. Research for pecuniary return shall be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.
   
3. Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects.
   
4. College teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and members of a particular 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 a member of a learned profession and a particular college, 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 College.