Academic Freedom

There's a link to a new AAUP video below, "​Defending Academic Freedom in the Era of Trump 2.0,​" from an event on January 24, which includes a panel and then a keynote at 1:20 in which Patricia McGuire, president of the Catholic institution Trinity Washington University and recipient of an AAUP academic freedom award, gives the keynote.

She says in this speech, "It feels like we are in turbulent moment in which we are trying to save ourselves. But we can only save ourselves if we understand our larger purpose in rescuing our nation, our very democracy, from the strangling grip of the most authoritarian president ever to take over the White House ...the entire government, and the private sector that colludes with him."

She continues, "In the era of Trump 2.0, higher education is being tested to prove our worth as never before to prove our worth, not just in terms of educational outcomes for our students, but in terms of the role we play as a necessary pillar of democracy and courageous stewards of the values we hold dear in academic freedom, freedom of expression and of the press, equal protection, and equity and justice for all. Politicians have launched this war against higher education because of what we do. Let's stop self-flagellation and be clear about this: we create and convey knowledge, and knowledge is a fundamental threat to authoritarian power."

The Academic Division of Fairfield University seeks to create and support a scholarly community that, in the Jesuit Catholic tradition, cultivates intellectual curiosity, advances human potential, and seeks truth.

Fairfield’s scholarly community is:

• Rooted on campus, and extends to local, national, and global contexts

• Enacted through outcomes-focused undergraduate and graduate degree programs and professional studies offerings that prepare servant-leaders for citizenry in today’s complex world

• Sustained by the scholarship, research, creativity, and community engagement of our faculty and students

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Fairfield University understands that academic freedom applies to all faculty engaged in those activities (eg. classroom teaching, published research, production of artistic artifacts) that reflect the academic expertise of a faculty member. Unlike the narrower purview of academic freedom, freedom of expression applies to all of our community members, including students, employees, administrators, campus organizations, and invited speakers. These guiding principles for the freedom of expression at Fairfield University are to be understood and applied in such a manner.

Civil Discourse

Fairfield seeks for its members to model civil modes of discourse, a practice through which our students will learn to be proficient and integral citizens of a healthy democracy. We identify civil discourse to be respectful and considerate of the opinions of all individuals involved. Our University strongly encourages speech that adheres to this mode of discourse; and further identifies speech acts that fall short of these standards of civility to be antithetical to our Jesuit and intellectual commitments.

Fairfield's Intellectual Mission

Our mission statement identifies Fairfield University as a coeducational institution of higher learning committed to producing liberally educated persons able to assimilate and organize facts, to evaluate knowledge, to identify issues, and to use appropriate methods of reasoning. As a consequence, the free and rigorous exchange of ideas, debate, discussion, and disputation is vital to the intellectual mission of the University. However, such exchange ought to be grounded in and guided by the strictest standards of intellectual inquiry. Therefore, Fairfield University is a place where opinions are not just expressed, but tested and advanced through reason and study. We hold all speech on campus to this standard of rigorous intellectual inquiry; and see no place for discourse that directly challenges the values of intellectual inquiry expressed in the mission statement. We do not limit public discourse only to credentialed speakers, or those with formal training.

Respect for Basic Human Dignity

Our Jesuit mission acknowledges our obligation to respect the basic human dignity of all people, as we carry out our intellectual mission. Thus, we identify speech acts that denigrate the basic human dignity of members of our local and global community as both unwelcome and unprotected by free speech privileges on our campus.

Hate Speech

Hate speech, defined as any expression, spoken or written, in any public forum, which intimidates or threatens any group, or promotes violence against any group in the University community, contravenes the fundamental commitment of the University to the shared human dignity of all peoples, and is not acceptable at Fairfield.

Fairfield University's Jesuit Mission

Fairfield University's principles that guide free expression have as their foundation our Jesuit Catholic mission. As stated in our mission, "Fairfield University, founded by the Society of Jesus, is a Catholic institution of higher learning devoted to developing the creative intellectual potential of its students and fostering in them ethical and religious values and a sense of social responsibility. Jesuit education, which began in 1547, is committed today to the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement. Fairfield University is Catholic in both tradition and spirit. It celebrates the God-given dignity of every human person. It therefore welcomes those of all beliefs and traditions who share its concerns for scholarship, justice, truth, and freedom, and it values the diversity which their membership brings to the University community. Strong differences of outlook and opinion are the lifeblood of an intellectual community, and Fairfield welcomes any and every voice that respects the basic human dignity of all people."

Adapted from the work of the Provost's Task Force on Free Expression:
Kris Sealey (Coordinator)
William Abbott
Gayle Alberda
Catherine Giapponi
Alison Kris
Paul Lakeland
Jamie MacBeth
Thomas Murray
Nels Pearson
Adam Rugg
Stephanie Storms
Endorsed by the Board of Trustees (November 2018) and the Academic Council (April 2019).

We have a number of resources on campus that support Academic Freedom.

The ​Research Support Consortium​ recommends that we create a "Researcher Support Team" in case of external attacks, and we also have campus-wide policies on academic freedom and freedom of speech, as well as policies for what to do when academic freedom is threatened. You can find these in the Journal of Record and the Handbook, and we will be drawing together into a handout as part of the Freedom of Speech Working Group. We will reach out to the administration and continue to investigate this and put together more guidance in the coming weeks.

Employees’ Personal Social Media 

(In the Fairfield University Employee Handbook)

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The University respects employees’ right to express personal opinions when using personal social media, and does not retaliate or discriminate against employees who use social media for political organizing or other lawful purposes, such as activities protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Administrators who link to the University’s websites on personal social media websites should identify their relationship with the University. Employees who identify themselves as University employees on social media should state that the views they express are their own. The University protects its name and related business assets that are discussed on social media, as permitted by federal and state law. Employees are prohibited from disclosing on any social media network information that is confidential or proprietary to the University, or to a third party that has disclosed information to the University. 

Employee Use of Social Media for Work Purposes 

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Employees should not utilize their personal social media accounts for work purposes. Employees who need to use social media for work purposes should contact Human Resources to discuss creation and use of University social media accounts for University business. The University expects all employees to abide by the University policy when using social media for work purposes. 

Employer-Sponsored Social Media 

The University engages in communications with current and prospective students, families, business partners, vendors and suppliers, affiliates and subsidiaries, and the general public via University-sponsored social media (for example, the University has its own Facebook® and Twitter™ accounts). University-sponsored social media are for business use only, and the University owns the accounts for University-sponsored social media, including all content, communications, and connections created, sent, received, or stored on such accounts. Only employees who are designated and authorized by the University can prepare content for or delete, edit, or otherwise modify content on University-sponsored social media; such employees are specially trained by the University for use of University-sponsored social media. 

The University protects its copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, customer lists, and other sensitive, proprietary, and confidential material as permitted by federal and state law. 

Security and Monitoring of Social Media 

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Because the University owns and operates electronic communication systems and devices, the University monitors employee use of social media, whether accessed at work or elsewhere while telecommuting, to ensure that electronic communication systems and devices are being used in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, this policy, and other University rules. 

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Violations 

If not otherwise provided in this policy, employees who violate the social media policy are subject to discipline. Violations of the University’s social media policy can constitute violations of other relevant University policies. Employees who use social media for illegal purposes are subject to appropriate legal action by the University or governmental entities. 

The University encourages employees to use official company communications to report all perceived or actual violations of University policies, including violations of the social media policy. Employees can report actual or perceived violations to Human

Resources. 

None of the prohibitions contained in this policy are intended to infringe upon employees’ exercise of their rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act or any other applicable law, including discussions with co-workers or other issues related to their wages, hours or working conditions.