Academic Freedom, Responsibility, Integrity, and Cooperation

Academic freedom, responsibility, integrity, and cooperation are among the guiding principles for the mission of the University of Minnesota (Board of Regents Mission Statement, last amended Feb. 2008)

Mission of the UMN: Guiding Principles

In all of its activities, the University strives to sustain an open exchange of ideas in an environment that:

  • embodies the values of academic freedom, responsibility, integrity, and cooperation;
  • provides an atmosphere of mutual respect, free from racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and intolerance;
  • assists individuals, institutions, and communities in responding to a continuously changing world;
  • is conscious of and responsive to the needs of the many communities it is committed to serving;
  • creates and supports partnerships within the University, with other educational systems and institutions, and with communities to achieve common goals

The Board of Regents Policy: Academic Freedom and Responsibility defines academic freedom as "the freedom, without institutional discipline or restraint, to discuss all relevant matters in the classroom, to explore all avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression, and to speak or write on matters of public concern as well as on matters related to professional duties and the functioning of the University." It further states that academic responsibility "implies the faithful performance of professional duties and obligations, the recognition of the demands of the scholarly enterprise, and the candor to make it clear that when one is speaking on matters of public interest, one is not speaking for the institution."

The University's Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court case Garcetti v. Ceballos and local controversy over the showing of the film Troubled Waters, released a White Paper in December 2011, which clarifies the nature and scope of academic freedom and responsibility at the University. In particular, it notes that the protections defined by the Regents policy "extend to all University employees who engage in scholarly work."

On March 14, 2025 the Board of Regents’ Resolution Related to Response to the President’s Task Force on Institutional Speech described a set of guiding principles related to institutional speech. The University has started the process of implementing the board resolution. The Provost formed a group to advise on the evaluation of statements against the criteria in the Board Resolution to ensure the resolution is implemented.

The group’s focus is on understanding the Regents' resolution and advising the provost in determining which institutional statements on University-designated websites or other media do or do not align with the institutional stance, or lack of stance, on an issue. For example, the University does not currently have a position on the conflict in the Middle East, or the war in the Ukraine. Seven department statements that had been housed on University-designated websites related to the Middle East conflict and protests on campus were taken down, and an additional four statements on the war in Ukraine were identified and removed.

The group is committed to affirming and defending the rights of any individual engaged in scholarly work to research, publish, teach, speak, or write on matters of public concern or public interest, and to otherwise disseminate their research, scholarship, and creative activity. For example, we continue to strongly encourage our community members to teach, conduct, and disseminate scholarship reflecting differing views on the Middle East or Ukraine. We expect that the outreach and dissemination of our research, scholarship and creative activity will be unaffected by this resolution.

Official policies and codes of conduct that affirm and address academic freedom and free speech protections and responsibilities at the University: