The Specific Theory of Academic Freedom and the General Issue of Civil Liberty

Abstract

Academic freedom has been blurred in law and in popular usage. Its clarification should enable the Supreme Court to grant it explicit protection under the Constitution as an identifiable subset of First Amendment freedoms. Its identification with the professional endeavors of faculty members, moreover, should reduce the tendency of institutions to intrude upon the professional personal liberties of the faculty even while adequately protecting the extramural professional pursuits of the faculty and assuring them of equal protection in their interests as private citizens. Adjustments of standards by the American Association of University Professors, more definitely distinguishing the special accountability of faculty members for the integrity of their professional endeavors from their roles as private citizens, is long overdue.

Keywords: academic freedom, First Amendment, university, professor, free speech