Eastern Mennonite University’s mission is to equip students to think, serve, and lead in a global context. As a Christian university, EMU serves its denomination, the broader church, and the common good through the acquisition and dissemination of disciplined knowledge and reflective practice. In order to carry out its educational mission, EMU is committed to maintaining a community of learning where all members ‐‐ faculty, staff, and students alike ‐‐ are free to pursue truth in all disciplines and modes of inquiry, and are protected from internal or external influences that would restrict them from the responsible exercise of truth‐seeking.
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Role definition of the Board of Trustees – The role of the BOT board of trustees is to oversee the EMU administrators’ application of policies and protection of the university mission. They will not, therefore, be directly involved in operational decisions about attendant risks, threats to, or violations of academic freedom.
Role definition of the university president – The president bears ultimate responsibility to protect academic freedom within the university and to articulate it to the university’s various publics. The president therefore must be informed about potential significant controversies and has ultimate authority, after appropriate consultation, to make decisions in cases where significant risk to the university is at stake.
Role definition of academic officers -- The provost and the academic deans hold the responsibility to develop and implement policies and procedures that support academic freedom.
Role definition for department chairpersons or program directors – Since a department chairperson or divisional program director could potentially find him/herself on either side of a controversial matter with regard to faculty, staff, or student activities, the chairperson or director shall not be put in the position of final decision-making but will participate in open communication and leadership of a decision-making process.
Ad hoc Academic Freedom Review committee –
An ad hoc committee may be called together by the provost at the request of any person involved in identifying risks who has not been able to reach a resolution through application of open communication strategies.
Members: Provost, the appropriate dean, at least 2 faculty members, at least 1 student, at least 1 staff member (such persons will be identified by the provost in consultation with the appropriate dean and department chair program director when a case arises).
Faculty, staff, or students involved in the controversy will be invited to present their perspective to the ad hoc committee.
The ad hoc committee may solicit input from stakeholders, other faculty, staff, and students in their review of the case.
The ad hoc committee has the authority to make decisions on the best venue in which to engage the controversy, the method of display or presentation, and the format for interacting with the public. In particularly controversial or public cases, the committee will make a recommendation to the president, who will have the ultimate decision-making authority.
To protect the time of all involved, decisions will be made according to a timeline established at the first meeting of the ad hoc committee, reserving the right of the committee to adjust the timeline as the case unfolds.
Violation/misuse of the right to Academic Freedom – If a faculty or staff person believes their right to academic freedom has been violated, he/she should follow the University Grievance Policy and Procedures to process the violation. If a student believes their right to academic freedom has been violated, he/she should follow the Student Complaint Policy. Misuse or abuse of the right to academic freedom in ways that are damaging to the university will be addressed using regular human resources procedures.
University Resources:
Conflict and Grievance Policy and Procedure, Faculty Handbook
Student Complaint Policy (http://www.emu.edu/policies/)University Ombudsman (https://www.emu.edu/ombudsman/)
University Accord (https://www.emu.edu/ombudsman/university-accord/)
- Counseling Center (http://www.emu.edu/studentlife/counseling/)
Faculty Senate Academic Subcommittee
Faculty Tenure and Promotion process
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policies: Hiring, Contract Reviews and Promotions
Last Revised April 30, 2020, Provost's Council
Responsible party
The provost is responsible for this policy.
Policy Review
This policy is to be reviewed every three years.
Distribution
Employee Handbook, Student Handbooks