The UNC Systems’ Committee on University Governance gave an initial nod Wednesday to a formal definition for academic freedom.
“Academic freedom as a concept is included in our code and has been for some time,” explained Andrew Tripp, UNC System’s senior vice president and general counsel. “What has been lacking is a definition of academic freedom for both faculty and students.”
Tripp said university leadership identified that gap over a year ago and tasked the chair of UNC’s Faculty Assembly and others to work out a consensus definition that could govern how university campuses operate.
“It does a couple of things — that definition defines [academic freedom] in words that our faculty assembly have provided, but it also talks about what academic freedom is with concrete examples and where it applies most pointedly to protect the classroom and course development, research, and scholarly inquiry,” Tripp said.
The proposed policy also defines what academic freedom isn’t, which is important to acknowledge, Tripp told members of the Board of Governors.
Wade Maki, chair of the UNC Faculty Assembly, said all stakeholders had a chance over the past 15 months to weigh in, making the draft policy an excellent example of shared governance.
Wade Maki, chair of the UNC Faculty Assembly (Photo: UNC-BOG videostream)“I think it’s a good balance of what the responsibilities we have are and what the opportunities we have are, because academic freedom is critical to us using our expertise to do the teaching and research the faculty are supposed to do,” Maki said.
The policy defines academic freedom as “the foundational principle that protects the rights of all faculty to engage in teaching, research/creative activities, service, and scholarly inquiry without undue influence. It ensures that faculty can freely pursue knowledge; express, discuss and debate ideas; and contribute to knowledge and understanding related to their areas of expertise.”
The policy further states that faculty have the rights and responsibility to determine “pedagogical strategies, instructional materials, evaluation methods, and classroom discourse that supports student learning” provided those methods align with professional standards.
But the policy also cautions that academic freedom is not absolute.
Under the policy, faculty are expected to exercise academic freedom that falls “within the parameters established by academic disciplines, professions, and in compliance with institutional policies and rules.”
Other guardrails spell out that academic freedom does not permit instructors to teach content “clearly unrelated” to the course description or to use university resources for political or ideological advocacy.
The North Carolina State Conference of the American Association of University Professors says that proposed revisions to the policy differ considerably from language adopted in the UNC Faculty Assembly’s Resolution on Academic Freedom back in October 2025. What started as six lines defining the limitations of academic freedom last fall mushroomed to 35 lines when presented this week.
Annelise Mennicke, Associate Professor at UNC-Charlotte’s School of Social Work (Photo: Charlotte.edu)“That’s a really big increase, and that increase was not done in a way that was presented with shared governance, but that increase was done with very little faculty input over the holiday break when very little faculty were even available to weigh in,” said Annelise Mennicke, a AAUP member and associate professor in the School of Social Work at UNC-Charlotte.
Attorneys for NCAAUP say the list of parameters effectively weakens the historical scope of academic freedom.
“Much of the language in the Resolution and proposed additional language is also vague and, therefore, risks creating an academic environment that is inconsistent with principles of academic freedom and free speech articulated by the United States Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit,” NCAAUP attorneys write in a January 26 letter to the UNC System.
NCAAUP notes that the proposed policy also fails to spell out what constitutes a “hostile learning environment” or “ideological advocacy,” creating a new murkiness that could be “weaponized” to retaliate against instructors, especially those teaching disfavored subjects with unpopular viewpoints.
Mennicke says an English professor, for example, might think twice about integrating information about climate change within their class, given the vagueness of the latest parameters.
“It’s very easy for outside malicious actors to look at a concept and object to it,” said Mennicke. “We are the experts in these areas and we know what are the very nuanced and complicated debates that are happening on topics, and we should be allowed to exercise that expertise, and expose students to a range of ways that interdisciplinary concepts connect with each other.”
This fight over academic freedom is happening on campuses across the country.
PEN America, the nonpartisan nonprofit, noted in a recently released report that fear among faculty and school administrators is growing.
Last year, state legislators in 32 states introduced 93 bills that would censor higher education.
Maki said on Wednesday he believes the UNC System is taking a good initial step forward.
“I think we’re staking a flag in a bold direction,” Maki said.
NCAAUP is asking the proposed policy be placed on an indefinite hold until there has been further review and input from faculty and students.
Mennicke worries that moving forward without that crucial input could cause some faculty members to depart.
“I’m in social work, and we’re hiring for a position, and we see the challenges of recruiting people to North Carolina because concerns about attacks on academic freedom, privacy, and intellectual property rights related to the syllabus,” Mennicke told NC Newsline. “The anti-DEI policies that exist, it’s harder and harder to recruit good-quality faculty, and that will have a long-lasting impact on the UNC system.”
The code of academic freedom and tenure moved forward on a voice vote Wednesday and is slated to appear on the consent agenda at the UNC Board of Governors meeting in February.
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