Academic Freedom

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.

Academic freedom at EMU is practiced within the context of specialized disciplines and in support of the university’s mission as articulated in its foundational documents. EMU is guided by the definition of academic freedom articulated in the American Association of University Professors’ Policy Documents and Reports, 11th Edition, paraphrased below.

1. Insofar as they adequately perform their academic duties and serve the mission of EMU, members of the EMU learning community (faculty, staff, and students) are entitled to freedom in their research, course design, and learning endeavors, and in the dissemination of results. Faculty should consult with the appropriate officers of the university before conducting sponsored research or signing external contracts.
2. EMU faculty, in their areas of expertise, and students, as engaged learners, have freedom in the classroom in discussing the subjects of the course, but should exercise care when introducing into the teaching and learning process matters unrelated to the subject and their expertise. 
3. The members of our learning community are global citizens and representatives of Eastern Mennonite University. When they speak or write as citizens, they will be free from censorship or discipline from EMU. Members of the EMU learning community, however, should be cognizant of the obligations imposed by their special position in the community. They should remember that the public may judge their profession and EMU by what they say, write, or display. The expectation, then, is for members of the learning community to express themselves with accuracy, clarity, and vigor; to practice appropriate restraint; to show respect for others’ opinions; and to make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.

Our Christian university serves the church and the common good both by transmitting and by critically challenging received traditions of human knowledge. Because debates regarding traditional wisdom can be perceived as threatening and may often involve trial and error, community members shall exercise academic freedom responsibly in a spirit of civility, humility, respect, and care for the common good. When so exercised, academic freedom reflects and extends EMU’s core Christian values of discipleship, community, and service.

Academic Freedom Task Force, March 15, 2016

Provost’s Council, March 16, 2016

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