Academic freedom is a term that refers primarily to certain rights claimed by professors at universities and colleges. The term also refers to various rights claimed by students at those institutions and by the institutions themselves.
For professors, academic freedom means the right to teach, to conduct research, and to write without fear of dismissal, so long as the researcher or teacher has followed the academic discipline’s standards for seeking the truth. For students, it means the right to challenge a professor’s views without being penalized for being outspoken. For the institutions, it means the right to determine what is taught and what research is conducted on the campus, free of control from outside the university. For teachers, academic freedom has also included the freedom to engage in political speech and activities.
Academic freedom grew out of freedom of thought and expression, a basic right of any free society. Scholars insist on having the freedom to present the truth as they find it, even if it conflicts with popular belief, as long as they adhere to scholarly standards of care. Without such freedom, scholars cannot perform their vital role of seeking and spreading new knowledge. Scholars believe that creative research is impossible if its findings must be withheld or distorted to agree with established views. This spirit of free inquiry and teaching helps give universities and colleges their unique character.
The chief importance of academic freedom is that society benefits from the knowledge discovered by scholars. Yet, the history of academic freedom is largely the history of the many attacks on it.
Beginnings.
The idea of academic freedom developed with the rise of universities in Europe during the 1100’s and 1200’s. The universities were self-governing, ecclesiastical (church) bodies, and many of these universities became famous and powerful. But even the most powerful could be subject to church control. The church persecuted many scholars whose ideas and teaching contradicted religious beliefs. One such scholar was the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo, who had been a member of the faculty of the University of Padua. The church silenced him in 1633 for arguing that Earth moved around the sun. But over time, the rise of commerce and the need for knowledge sustained the idea of the university as a place where knowledge can freely be tested, sought, and taught.
By the early 1800’s, the concept of academic freedom had been established in Germany, along with the idea of the university as a research institution. Professors could teach whatever they desired and could undertake any research. Students could study whatever they wanted, subject only to their taking a final examination. Such ideas influenced the growth of American universities.
In the United States, academic freedom has faced a variety of threats. In colonial times, religious intolerance presented the biggest danger to academic freedom. Universities dismissed many teachers whose religious beliefs conflicted with the established views. During the late 1800’s, economic and political power became the major source of threats to academic freedom in the United States. Many private universities had wealthy benefactors as trustees, and most state universities had politically appointed trustees. Some trustees felt that the teaching in their universities should agree with their own economic and political views. As a result, a number of professors lost their jobs for teaching certain economic or political concepts. However, most university trustees respected academic freedom.
The 1900’s.
After World War II ended in 1945, academic freedom in the United States came under attack by many people who feared possible Communist infiltration of universities. An investigation by the Un-American Activities Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives found a few Communists on the faculty of a small number of universities. As a result, many people feared that most universities were full of Communists. A number of professors were unjustly accused of supporting Communism and lost their jobs.
In the 1960’s, academic freedom faced new challenges—from the campus itself. Many students opposed the U.S. role in the Vietnam War (1957-1975)—and all forms of war as well. They resented having military research conducted on campus. They thought that funds spent for military purposes should go instead to help minority groups gain equality and to eliminate poverty and pollution. Some students also questioned the relationship of some of their courses to current problems. A number of faculty members joined the student protests. These challenges to the traditional understanding of academic freedom gradually waned.
The 2000’s.
In the early 2000’s, a new challenge emerged from outside the universities. Organized groups mounted an effort for the states to enact a “Student Bill of Rights,” limiting what professors can say in the classroom. Professors and college and university presidents strongly opposed these proposals as infringing, not protecting, academic freedom. No state has yet enacted the proposed law limiting the freedom to teach.
