Academic Freedom, Intellectual Freedom and Free Speech

At the University of Arizona, we are a community of engaged scholars and learners committed to freedom of speech & expression, academic freedom, intellectual freedom and collaborative inquiry.  We support creativity and innovation by valuing all voices and engaging in civil and respectful discourse. While we may not always agree with the ideas and opinions of others, we must honor their right to express them.

Please explore and utilize this website as a resource.

• Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual has section 6-202 Academic Freedom

• The Dean of Students Office has online resources about Student Rights and Responsibilities, including information on the First Amendment Guidelines.

• Faculty Affairs: Academic Freedom

• Faculty Governance: Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression; includes information on the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure

• Professional Conduct Policy: 7.01.02 Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech

Congressional Research Service

• In June 2024, the Congressional Research Service released a report: Campus Protests, Federal Funding, and the First Amendment.

• In April 2020, the Congressional Research Service released a report: Free Speech on College Campuses: Considerations for Congress.

U.S. Department of Education

• In July 2024, the U.S. Department of Education published a resource guide about “fostering safe and inclusive campuses through the Israel-Hamas conflict and beyond,” called Free to Learn: Leading Inclusive Learning Environments in Higher Education.

• In May 2024, the U.S. Department of Education Issued Guidance on Balancing Title VI Obligations & Free Speech On Campus in its Dear Colleague Letter: Protecting Students from Discrimination, such as Harassment, Based on Race, Color, or National Origin, Including Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics.

U.S. House of Representatives

• U.S. Congress. House. Free speech on college campuses : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives. November 8, 2023. 118th Cong., 1st sess. Serial No. 118–52.

• U.S. Congress. House. Diversity of thought: protecting free speech on college campuses: hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives. March 29, 2023. 118th Cong., 1st sess. Serial No. 118–4

• U.S. Congress. Senate. Exploring free speech on college campuses: hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate. October 31, 2017. 115th Cong., 1st sess., 2019. S. HRG. 115–660

•  American Council on Education, a higher education member association.  Includes a report about free speech, Campus Inclusion and Freedom of Expression: Controversial Speakers, and webinars about free speech and its intersections with inclusion and technology on campus.
• Association of American Law Schools: Law Deans Clearinghouse on Academic Freedom & Free Speech.
• Council of Independent Colleges:  Campus Free Expression Project with separate roadmaps for presidents, faculty, trustees, and student affairs.
• Freedom Forum:  Free Speech on College Campuses: The Ultimate Guide.
• Institute for Citizens and Scholars: College Presidents for Civic Preparedness. 
• National Association of Student Personnel Administrators: The First Amendment and the Inclusive Campus: Effective Strategies for Leaders in Student Affairs.
• PEN America: Campus Free Speech Guide.
• Project Pericles (national consortium of colleges and universities committed to including participatory citizenship and social responsibility as essential elements of their educational programs): civic engagement resources, programs, and partnerships.
• Student Press Law Center (an independent, non-partisan 501c(3) which works to promote, support and defend the First Amendment and press freedom rights of high school and college journalists and their adviser).  Website has legal guides for students and online resources for educators about student freedom of speech.

• University of Arizona’s National Institute for Civil Discourse, a non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting healthy and civil political debate has information about its National Civility Network, which is a collaboration of centers at universities that are “committed to a more robust democracy through programs both on campus and in the broader society.”
• American University: Project on Civic Dialogue, including a “Disagree with a Professor” series.
• Catham University: Resources for Civil Discourse toolkit
• Claremont McKenna College’s Open Academy:  fostering Freedom of Expression, Viewpoint Diversity, and Constructive Dialogue through its programs.
• Columbia University’s Global Freedom of Expression 
• Georgetown University’s The Free Speech Project: Free Speech Tracker, which provides a glimpse into various free speech issues affecting the United States and can be filtered for the topic of Education.
• James Madison University - Center for Civic Engagement: Navigating Difficult Conversations.
• New York University’s First Amendment Watch, a project of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, provides online resources with nonpartisan descriptions about First Amendment issues.
• University of California - National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement, which has resources about free speech on college campuses and in society, including examples of campus policies and guidelines.
• UCLA’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has resources about freedom of speech on campus, including Free Speech on Campus: The Basics, the Myths, the Challenges.
• University of Chicago - Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression, otherwise known as “The Chicago Principles,” which has been adopted by other universities and colleges.
• University of Connecticut’s Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute - Democracy & Dialogues initiative with program events and a fellowship.
• University of Florida’s Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment. Included the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project, which is “a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to current and contemporary issues affecting the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, thought, assembly and petition.”
• University of Houston Center for Public Deliberation, which “designs and implements community dialogues, deliberations, and other acts of public discourse for the purposes of building stronger relationships, creating more productive decision-making processes, and bolstering collaborative action.”
• University of Wisconsin’s Center for Transformative Justice - Civil Discourse Toolkit.
• Vanderbilt University’s The Future of Free Speech Project is an independent, nonpartisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University, which has the goal “to restore a resilient global culture of free speech in the digital age through knowledge, research, and advocacy.”