1.
Recommendation from the Committee on Faculty Welfare
and Privileges (Jan Blits, Chairperson) with the concurrence of the Rules
Committee (Jack Baroudi, Chairperson) and the Executive Committee (John Madsen,
Chairperson) for the request to replace the University’s 1979 Academic Freedom Statement
with a more protective Academic Freedom Statement located in the Faculty
Handbook Section 4: Personnel Policies for Faculty – Academic Freedom and
Standards of Conduct – Academic Freedom Statement (attachment a
Current Policy) (attachment
b Newly Proposed Policy)
Whereas: a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (Garcetti v. Ceballos,
547 U.S. 410 [2006])
and subsequent U.S. Circuit Court rulings, including one by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit (Gorum v. Sessoms 08-1741
[2008]), have removed Constitutional protections for public university faculty
and students in all areas of “professional duties” other than teaching and
research, and
Whereas: the University of Delaware’s 1979
Academic Freedom Statement (www.udel.edu/provost/fachb/IV-B-1-acadfreedom.html
)does not specifically protect the freedom of
faculty and students to address matters of institutional policy and action or
to conduct institutional governance, be it therefore
Resolved: that
the Faculty Senate approves replacing the University’s 1979 Academic
Freedom Statement with the proposed Academic Freedom Statement.