The University of North Carolina Board of Governors is preparing to vote on a comprehensive new definition of academic freedom that would replace the university system’s current two-paragraph policy with extensive parameters governing faculty conduct. Developed through a year-long collaborative process initiated by the Faculty Assembly chair, the proposal defines academic freedom as the foundational principle protecting faculty rights to teach, research, and engage in scholarly inquiry “without undue influence,” while explicitly stating that such freedom “is not absolute.”
The proposed policy enumerates specific limitations, including prohibitions on teaching content “clearly unrelated to the course description,” using university resources for “political or ideological advocacy,” and refusing to comply with institutional policies. It also affirms administrative rights to ensure faculty activities support the university’s mission, meet accreditation standards, and intervene when conduct “undermines the institution’s educational objectives.”
The North Carolina Conference of the AAUP (American Association of University Professors) strongly opposes the measure, arguing that undefined terms like “institutional mission,” “hostile learning environment,” and “reasoned exception” create dangerous ambiguities that could enable retaliation against instructors with unpopular viewpoints and encourage self-censorship. Critics like former UNC Chapel Hill professor Abbey Hatcher contend the parameters essentially require faculty to pledge “fealty to the institutional mission.”
Supporters, including Faculty Assembly chair Wade Maki and FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), counter that codifying academic freedom with specific boundaries protects faculty from arbitrary interference by legislators or board members during controversies. Maki argues that “vagueness empowers the powerful,” and establishing clear policy limits administrative overreach. The Board of Governors is expected to vote late next month following additional Faculty Assembly input.